Online!
by Juura99
Summary: Naruto is hooked on an MMORPG game. He has tons of friends there and spends almost all his free time playing. However, he's never met a single friend in person. He doesn't mind, but then one of them wants to meet him in person. What should he do? SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, recently I started playing an online MMORPG called Shaiya. It's really cool and fun and I'm totally hooked. And then the idea for this story sprouted! WOOT!**

**For those of you who are reading my other story, Rei-Senzai DO NOT WORRY! This is more of a side thing. Rei-Senzai takes priority, so I work on those chapters more than these ones. Don't worry!**

**Okay, a heads up for if you decide to read this story!: When they are in the game world, I'll write out the descriptions and actions as if they were doing them themselves. However, conversations will be different. Don't forget, they type their conversations, they can't hear each other.**

**Also, I will use their character names during the gaming times. If it gets unbelievable confusing, let me know. But you don't have to worry about that just yet!**

**Warnings: Yaoi, as in boy takes boy to back room and does naughty, naughty perverted things to him. Or, in my case, Sasuke takes Naruto..._ANYWHERE_...and does naughty, naughty perverted things to him. Also, very light swearing int his fic *gasps of surprise* Yes, yes I know. Shut up.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own EITHER Naruto OR the online game Shaiya. All rights go to the respectful owners. I make no profit from this fic WHATSOEVER! That is all.**

**Pairings: SasuNaruSasu. The slightest, slightest, _SLIGHTEST _bit of NaruSaku. And a ?Naru pairing! (you can't know who until the times comes)**

**Anyway, with that mountain out of the way, please enjoy my newest work: Online!  
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"You idiot!"

"Huh?"

"Haven't you written up your report yet?"

"Uh, no."

"Well, I for one am not surprised. He's just a stupid idiot that can't do anything right."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Hey, I'm right here you know!"

"So?"

I hate my life.

That's the sentence that ran through my mind every single day. It was the truth. At that moment, the same time, for five out of seven days of my life, that sentence would run through my mind. Why?

Because at that moment in time, I did hate my life.

And _why _did I hate my life?

Because everyone _else _seemed to hate my life too and made a point to tell me how hate-worthy my life was.

I have no idea why I, Uzumaki Naruto, age sixteen, am so hated by my peers. It's not like I'm a homicidal maniac that's going to kill them with a plastic spoon!

That's Sabakuno Gaara's job. Not mine.

I'm just an innocent teenager. I mean, come on! My sunshine blonde hair, sky blue eyes and gorgeous tan skin all scream innocence!

...

Okay, so I gave myself an ego boost there, but my life sucks so I'll take what I can get.

But it's not a lie. I do have really bright yellow hair and sky blue eyes. I'm not sure where I get it from.

I'm an orphan, so I can't say whether I take after my father or mother.

"Uzumaki! Pay attention!"

I sighed loudly and faced my Maths teacher, Mizuki-sensei. The guy was always picking on me.

"Yes sir."

Placing an elbow on the desk casually, I stared straight ahead. Of course I wasn't really paying attention, but Mizuki-sensei was so boring. He made maths even worse than it really is.

Yeah, I'm not fond of maths. I hate it how there's always so many little numbers on one page. It's way too much for my brain to process in a single sitting.

I admit I'm not the smartest guy in the world.

Yet another thing that everyone seems to feel inclined to point out.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and glanced back to see Haruno Sakura. She had bright, bubblegum pink hair and jade green eyes which were a bit concerned at the moment as she leant forward in her seat to speak to me.

"Hey, don't listen to what those other girls were saying." She whispered.

Okay, so maybe not _everyone _was out to get me.

I still had Sakura at least.

I had met Sakura when I was seven. I'd run away from the orphanage-temporarily- when I stumbled across her at the playground. She had been hanging out with all of her friends, and upon seeing me, they had begun to tease me.

At that time, Sakura joined in and some of the things she said really stung. Especially since I was crushing on her big time.

However, three years later, I was walking back from school when I saw her by the park. She was getting teased about her wide forehead by the same people she used to call friends. By the time I was close enough, the punks were leaving. Sakura was crying on the sidewalk and didn't even look up when I sat down next to her.

And then, I said something that Sakura still claims that she 'doesn't know whether to hit me for insulting her or hugging me for complimenting her'.

You know what I said?

"Since you're forehead is so huge, that means your brain is huge too, which means you're really smart."

...Yeah, now you get what she means.

Back then though, she just looked up in shock.

"Why are you talking to me?" she sobbed. I just smiled at her.

"Because I like you. And you're sad. I don't want you to be sad."

Ah, sweet innocence. I swear, children have some of the best pick-up lines when used correctly.

Sakura had been so moved by my kindness, she had gotten to her knees and worshipped me, calling me her angel and pledging eternal love to me.

...

Well, that's what _I _imagined. In truth she stood up, crossed her arms and said "I don't need your pity!" before stomping off.

However, when I went to school the next day, she actually came up to me and said hello first. Then she sat next to me in class and even asked me if I wanted to eat lunch with her.

After that, and a few brief conversations, compliments, unintended insults and severe injuries dealt on her part, we became best friends.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, poking my forehead. I must have gotten lost in old memories and zoned out. Scratching the back of my head sheepishly, I offered a smile.

"Sorry. Zoned out for a moment there. What were you saying?"

She smiled that 'you're-an-idiot-but-I-still-like-you' smile and repeated herself. "I asked what you were going to do after school."

Ah, yes. After school.

That was the time my life didn't suck so bad. It sucked to live on my own, because my apartment was small and rundown and stuff. But, it wasn't all bad because of my...hobby.

I was hooked on an online MMORPG game.

And when I said hooked, I meant obsessed. I would go home, change into my sleepwear, make some ramen and then get straight onto my laptop, and just play until the wee hours of the morning.

And you know what's even better?

I have tons of friends there. None of us know each other's real names, or where we live or anything. It was kind of an unspoken rule where we never disclosed personal details. Safety and all. You never know who's out there.

We do talk about our lives and friends, but never by name.

The best thing is, the friends there have never judged me like other people do.

They like me for who they can see me to be. Am I'm pretty damn honest with them, even online!

"I'm going to meet up with the group. Do you want to come along? You're character could use some levelling up!" I asked, winking at her. Sakura chuckled and nodded.

"Sure."

I had somehow convinced Sakura to play the game too. She wasn't the strongest, but she was pretty good at healing and using spells at the right time. I suggested she be a Mage, since they are better for support than offence.

Sometimes, me and Sakura just wander through the virtual world together and hunt down random monsters. I do all the up close and personal fighting while she gives support from afar and heals me if I need it.

We make a pretty good team.

"So, you're finally going to meet the rest of my friends, Sakura-chan?" I asked teasingly. I had tried several times to get her to join our group, but she was too shy. She said she didn't want to join until her character was stronger.

"Only if you help me level up three times first." She said. I nodded eagerly.

"Done and done, Sakura-chan!"

"UZUMAKI!"

Shit.

Mizuki-sensei stomped over and glared at me, thrusting a small slip into my face. I groaned and took it while he smirked and walked away.

Looking down at the formidable pink piece of paper, I sighed.

Another detention.

I hate my life.

* * *

Sakura was kind enough to wait for me while I sat in my detention. It was only fifteen minutes, but it felt like years to me. I wanted to get out and go play!

And as childish as that sounds, it was the pure, honest truth!

"Uzumaki, face forward."

And this detention was ten times worse.

Why?

Because the goddamn class rep was looking over it.

In other words, the high and mighty assed, Uchiha Sasuke.

The guy was tall and lean, with sleek black hair. Long bangs framed his porcelain face, but stuck up high into the air at the back.

Like a duck's butt.

His skin was so clear and smooth, it made Barbie jealous.

Well, at least, this is how all-and I mean _all_- the girls describe him. He's a God in their eyes.

But to me, he just looks like a featherless, uncooked chicken what with his lanky and pale figure.

Plus, the guy had it out for me! He was picking on me almost as much as Mizuki-sensei!

I turned to face the board with a scowl, completely unhappy with my current situation. But one glance at the clock brought a smile to my face. Only five minutes left!

"Uzumaki, you stay for an extra five minutes."

See? SEE!

He's got it out for me!

I made a move to glare at the smirking boy, but remembered that he was giving me five minutes for looking elsewhere, so instead I stayed absolutely still.

Ha! Take that Uchiha!

He just walked to the front and sat down on the teachers empty desk while staring at us.

Besides me, there were three others.

Inuzuka Kiba. For some reason his small dog Akamaru was nestled in his shirt. I didn't really think about that. I'm not too sure I wanted to know.

Nara Shikamaru was also there. All I really knew about him was he was really lazy, but was top of the class. He even beat Sasuke!

Heh, cool. I like him now.

Then there was Akimichi Chouji. Even though he'd gotten detention for eating in class, there was still a bag of chips in his hand and he kept taking one out every five seconds.

Sasuke was watching the, rather obese, boy with a hint of amusement. Obviously he understood that if one tried to take away Chouji's food...they're dead.

My eyes started drifting until I spotted Kiba in my peripheral vision. He was looking at his watch, a rather panicked expression on his face.

I chanced a glance at the clock on the wall and felt a rush of anger and panic. It was already 2:20?

I had promised to meet up with my friends online at 2:15! I was late! By the time Sakura and I got back to my apartment, it would be 3:00 or so.

Shit!

Before I could raise my hand and ask to be let go, Sasuke also glanced at the clock. I swore I saw an expression of surprise on his face, but it was gone and replaced with the usual bastard mask, so I couldn't be sure.

"Alright, you can go." He said and left without another word. I practically knocked over my chair in my hurry to get out.

I scrambled down the stairs and burst through the front entrance. Sakura was standing by the gate, a very blank look on her face. She must have zoned out.

"Sakura-chan!" I called and she snapped out of her daze to look at me.

"That was a lot longer than I thought it would be." She noted and followed my lead as I sprinted away. "Why are we running as if there Gai-sensei was trying to give us a hug?" she huffed out.

I laughed at her simile, but didn't slow down. She was a fast runner, she could live.

"Because...I'm...Late!" I panted out. She nodded and sped up until the both of us were practically flying down the street.

We arrived outside my apartment building and stopped to catch our breath. I looked at her watch and grinned.

"2: 45! That's a new record!"

Sakura laughed-well, wheezed actually- and weakly punched my arm. "You're like the damn energizer bunny from hell, you know that?" she said, heading up the stairs. I followed close behind, grinning all the way.

"Of course! I can keep going forever!" I stopped and gave her a sly look. She paused, noticing the change in expression.

"What?"

"And I can also keep going _all_~ _night_~ _long_~!" I sang and gave a wink. She burst out laughing, my own soon following as we continued up the stairs.

I had long ago gotten over my crush on Sakura, and she knew it too. However, I never passed up the chance to crack a joke about it, and Sakura always took it in stride perfectly.

After fumbling with my keys and cursing out an artistic masterpiece, I managed to get my door open and shot inside, wasting no time in turning on my PC and tossing my bag across the room.

"TGIF!" I screeched excitedly. Sakura put her bag down a little more gracefully and went over to the cabinet.

Sakura had two laptops, being from the rather wealthy family she was. She kept one at my house in case of emergency and since she often came to visit. She set it up next to mine and we both waited for them to boot up.

I made some tea while Sakura made sandwiches and when we were done we sat down at our PC's and got ready to game.

Double clicking on the special icon on my desktop, I watched eagerly as the dramatic theme music played on the opening menu.

Logging in with lightening speed, I entered the great world of online role playing.

* * *

Just as I was about to move my character, there came a great rumbling noise. Sakura and I stood up, looking around fearfully. As I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, the whole apartment began to shake, and everything began to fall out of place. I was yelling and Sakura was screaming, and then there was a tremendous crack.

The ceiling was caving in!

I shouted out for Sakura to run and pushed her out of the way before...I died.

**NOT! How many of you actually bought that last bit? Lol, sorry, couldn't resist. Anyway, aside from the randomness that is right above this message, how did you like the first chapter? Did it catch your interest? Should I continue or should I scrap this while I still have a chance?**

**Reviews are the best thing to let me know! ...so LET ME KNOW!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so we finally have the next chapter of Online! This starts off with them in the game world! I'm sure you guys can guess who most of the players are by their names. If not then I'm better at the whole 'subtle' hint thing than I thought.**

**I do not own Naruto. Never have never will.**

**Enjoy the next chapter!  
**

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* * *

Kyuubi has joined the game.**

**BlossomBomb has joined the game.**

Finally, I was in the world of Shaiya, the game I loved. Turning to the right, I watched as BlossomBomb faded in.

She wore the flowing red, protective gear I'd gotten for her, and carried a long metal staff with a crystal ball suspended between two curved hooks at the end.

I was wearing the scaled armour I'd brought and carried a huge blade in my right hand.

**BlossomBomb:** So where to? Where are we meeting them?

**Kyuubi: **By the Gate Keeper at Beika.

Together we made our way towards the town known as Beika. I helped Sakura kill several enemies and got her levelled up twice in that time. When we arrived, we immediately headed for the Gate Keeper. Gathered around that NPC was a group of players all too familiar to me.

**WolfPack01: **Hey look! Kyuubi's here. And he brought a friend!

**Kyuubi:** Hey guys! This is my best friend! She finally started playing!

**BlossomBomb:** Hi.

**WolfPack01:** Hey there! Nice to meet you! Don't worry, now that we're here, you won't have to deal with a weakling like Kyuubi.

**Kyuubi: **Screw you, Dog-boy!

WolfPack01 was an elf ranger. He wore thick brown leather armour and had two large, claw like weapons on his hands. His hair was brown and shagged and he looked a bit feral.

**CloudsRnice:** Don't argue. It's too troublesome to start with this.

**WolfPack01: **Shut up!

**Mantis00 has joined the group.**

**WolfPack01: **Hey Mantis.

**Mantis00: **Good afternoon.

**Kyuubi: **Why are you always so formal dude? Lighten up!

**WolfPack01: **Yeah! For once I agree with fox boy!

I was getting impatient. The others were taking too long. Although the group we were part of was huge, I was only close to a small bunch. The large group would often split up into smaller groups and they would separate around the world. With so many players all fighting different foes in different places, everyone levelled up like crazy. It was the perfect way to get levels faster.

**Kyuubi: **Hey guys, BlossomBomb is still new, so can we go fight some huge monsters to level her up fast?

**WolfPack01: **Sure thing! Don't worry Double B! We'll get you levelled up in no time!

**BlossomBomb:** Double B?

**WolfPack01: **You're name is too long to write over and over!

**Kyuubi: **Like yours isn't?

**WolfPack01: **Fine then. Call me Wolf for short.

**Kyuubi: **Okay. Then call me Kyu.

**BlossomBomb: **Shouldn't we call you Bi, instead? ;)

**Kyuubi:** Shut up, Double-B.

**WolfPack01:** Lol. Ooh, couples quarrel?

**Kyuubi: **You shut up as well.

**BubunBaika, Natoru-hime, BeautySoul and Avenger have joined the group.**

**Natoru-hime:** Hello everyone.

**Kyuubi: **Hey princess!

**WolfPack01:** Beloved Hime! She has come to heal our souls at last!

**BeautySoul:** What about me? L

**CloudsRnice:** You almost killed us all yesterday. We're not praising you.

I couldn't help but laugh. It was true that BeautySoul wasn't exactly much of a gamer. Apparently she only started playing to try and meet cute guys. Natoru-Hime said she was too shy to talk face to face with people and found her friends here instead.

**WolfPack01: **Okay, Cloud boy, what are we doing? You're the awesome strategy guy!

**CloudsRnice: **Idiot. Since BlossomBomb, Natoru-hime and BeautySoul are still quite new, we'll go to the Crolon Forest and fight those ogres to get them levelled up quickly. But we'll go into teams.

**WolfPack01: **What teams?

**CloudsRnice: **WolfPack, Mantis00 and Natoru-hime will be together. Make sure to stay close to Natoru-hime and protect her from danger. Natoru, you must use enhancement spells and protection spells on them, but don't attack any enemies, okay?

**Natoru-hime: **I've got it.

**WolfPack01: **Will we be flanking the right of you guys?

**CloudsRnice: **Yes. You have better detecting and scouting abilities, so you will be to the right and front. Then, Kyuubi, BlossomBomb and Avenger, you will be the other team. You'll be the one for the main attacks, since the two of you are the strongest. Also, BlossomBomb, you have quite a few barrier and healing spells, right?

**BlossomBomb: **Yes.

**CloudsRnice: **Great. Use those but don't get involved. Leave all the up close and personal fights to Avenger and Kyuubi.

**Avenger: **Shouldn't we head to Cornwell's Ruin instead? The ogres don't get us any experience anymore.

**Kyuubi: **Yeah! The skeletons in the dungeons will be better!

**CloudsRnice:** Will they be grey or purple level for the girls?

**Kyuubi: **Purple. Double-B isn't that low.

**BlossomBomb: **Hey!

**Kyuubi: **lol.

**CloudsRnice: **Alright fine. Let's go.

Everyone broke up into their respective teams and together we head out southwards. Sakura, A.K.A BlossomBomb stayed close behind me and Avenger, and often she would point out the enemies that appeared out of nowhere as we went.

I couldn't help but stare at Avenger. He wore very dark blue armour and had a long, thin sword in his hand. His hair was black too. Although I could only see his character, I was certain that the real him was an emo. He had to be.

**Kyuubi to Avenger: **So how's life in the real world?

**Avenger to Kyuubi: **Why do you ask?

**Kyuubi to Avenger: **Just curious.

**Avenger to Kyuubi: **It's fine. You?

**Kyuubi to Avenger: **Sucky as always.

**Avenger to Kyuubi: **What happened today?

I smiled a bit. Although I was close to everyone, Avenger was my closest friend through Shaiya. He knew more about me than the rest of them, and I was positive I knew more about him too. I knew he had a brother that he disliked and that his family was well off.

He knew I was an orphan and that I lived on my own. He also knew I loved ramen.

I knew he loved tomatoes.

The list of small, unimportant things went on and on. But most importantly, he knew that people seemed to treat me badly and I could always complain to him about it. He took it all in good stride.

**Kyuubi to Avenger: **Well, some girls were calling me stupid again during class today. I don't even know what started the whole discussion because I'd zoned out. But when I got back to the present, they were calling me an idiot.

**Avenger to Kyuubi: **Just ignore them. You'd be no better than them if you caused an uproar about it.

**Kyuubi to Avenger:** Yeah, you're right.

We were getting close to the entrance of the dungeon. I could see a whole horde of ugly ass ogre things.

In the real world, Sakura nudged my side, telling me they were purple.

Good. Purple meant higher experience for the newbies.

Me and Avenger shot straight in, not even bothering to wait for the O.K to go signal. We were experts at these guys and took them out in a flash. All three girls levelled up by the time we were finished. The others headed forward for the dungeon entrance and we brought up the rear.

Once inside, the battle raged on. The skeletons were a bit tougher and the girls kept getting attacked when they went to close. That meant, of course, that someone had to come and save them.

But it seems the teams did more than give us a travel group. Me and Avenger were always covering BlossomBomb.

Mantis00 and WolfPack01 were always by Natoru-hime's side, keeping her safe and CloudsRnice and BubunBaika took great care of BeautySoul.

We managed to get near the end of the dungeon when it happened.

**Avenger to Kyuubi: **Is there a post office near where you live?

**Kyuubi to Avenger: **Yeah, why?

**Avenger to Kyuubi: **I want to send you a letter, duh.

My heart beat just a bit faster. He wanted to have contact outside of Shaiya? I hadn't even imagined that a possibility!

**Kyuubi to Avenger: **What kind of letter?

**Avenger to Kyuubi:** Just a conversational one. I want to be able to talk to you outside of Shaiya, especially since I'm getting a new part time job and it's going to keep me busy.

It was then that Sakura, who had been secretly reading my whisper messages over my shoulder grinned. She knocked me out of my seat, ignoring the yell I let out and typed furiously.

**Kyuubi to Avenger: **This is Double-B! The nearest post office is Konoha Mail! Send him a letter! Send it!

I picked Sakura up and threw her onto the bed, ignoring her angry protests. Then, as punishment, I ran her character into a group of skeletons and let her die.

It was fine. She would resurrect by the leader of the group anyway.

Quickly sitting down, I glared at her when she only giggled and sat down herself, obviously pleased.

Mumbling about nosy, pink haired women, I turned back to the screen.

My jaw dropped like a brick and I gasped.

**Avenger to Kyuubi: **You live in Konoha too?

* * *

I tossed and turned all night, my mind whirring.

Avenger lived in Konoha? He lived in the same small town that I did?

How much of a coincidence was _that_?

I wondered if I knew him without, well, _knowing _it.

Running through the list of people I knew in my head, I sighed. I didn't know anyone in the town, aside from Sakura, Iruka-sensei, Tsunade-no-baa-chan and the old pervert Jiraiya. But none of them fit the description.

I already knew who Sakura's character was. Iruke-sensei didn't own a computer. Tsunade hated the things with a passion and Jiraiya only used his to search for pictures of naked women.

Pervert.

When morning rolled around, I jumped out of bed and hopped into the shower. Almost immediately I jumped back out with a loud scream. The water was freezing!

Mumbling about pathetic plumbing that took forever to heat things up, I waited a whole ten minutes in the nude just for the water to get lukewarm.

And it stayed that way through the entire ten minutes I was in there.

I hate my plumbing.

After grabbing a bowlful of Rice Crispies, I sat back down at my laptop, booting it up and shovelling cereal into my mouth like a mad man.

Hey, I was hungry in the mornings!

Since it was Saturday morning, at exactly 8:30 am, I did not think anyone of my friends would be online at the moment. I snickered to myself. That meant I could try to level up and surpass them all.

Yes, I'm a sneaky devil.

I logged into Shaiya, grinning when I saw how close I was to reaching the next level.

"Already on 78.4 percent!" I exclaimed.

I quickly checked my inventory to make sure I had health items and stamina goods. Satisfied that I was ready for anything, I started moving through the world. My eyes watching the surroundings until they drifted to the small icon that would let me see my friends list.

The same list that let me know who was online.

I was sure they would all be asleep, yet I couldn't shake the urge to check.

With a defeated sigh at how my curiosity outweighed my common sense, I clicked on the icon and the list appeared.

I blinked.

"He's online at this time? What is he, an old man?" I snorted, already knowing it wasn't true. The language and way of speaking that Avenger had wasn't that of an old man. Sure, he had his moments where I was sure the stick up his ass was getting uncomfortable, but usually he spoke like a teenager.

**Avenger to Kyuubi: **I didn't expect you to be awake at this time.

**Kyuubi to Avenger:** You should talk! Why are you awake?

**Avenger to Kyuubi:** I wanted to try and level up.

I laughed out loud, shaking my head. We thought alike too!

**Kyuubi to Avenger:** Bastard! You stole my idea!

**Avenger to Kyuubi:** Hn. Not likely. If anything you stole mine...

I snorted at his words. He was a cocky bastard indeed, but he made me grin. His next sentence did just that.

**Avenger to Kyuubi:**...I bet I level up before you do.

Oh, it was on like me on ramen!

**Kyuubi to Avenger:** Bring it on, emo-boy! We'll even have a prize!

**Avenger to Kyuubi:** What's the prize?

**Kyuubi to Avenger: **I dunno. Anything we want that's within our power. The winner can choose. Or, I should say, I will choose when I win.

I smirked, already heading out to kill some beasts and score some points.

The race was on and we kept in touch via the whisper option, since it let us talk even if we were on opposite sides of the world.

I was on 99.8% when his next message appeared.

**Avenger to Kyuubi:** Hn. Looks like I win. I just levelled up.

My jaw dropped, staring at my percentage before checking his level. He was telling the truth. He had won.

"No way! I was so close!" I yelled, slamming my head on the table. I groaned and looked up slowly.

Typing with a rejected sigh, I could already feel the jerk smirking at his screen.

**Kyuubi to Avenger:** You bastard, you got lucky! I was at 99.8%! I was about to level up! But, a deal's a deal. What do you want?

I was expecting him to ask for an item, maybe to make me say something humiliating on the public chat option. Anything on Shiaya, actually.

What I got was _not_ what I was expecting.

**Avenger to Kyuubi:** I want to meet you in person.

And that sentence alone was the start of many changes in my life.

* * *

**So it's pretty short, yes. But, but it's still here! So HAH! -points at the fans- Be Happy!**

**I'm going to tell you a sad story here. There was once an author known as Juura99. She was a very dedicated author and always tried to update soon. However, she wished she could get reviews. She was deprived of reviews when she was younger. But YOU can help her now! -sad music plays- Make a difference. And Review her work.**

**lol XD I couldn't resist! I saw one of those 'make a difference' adds!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright then. Here is the next installment of Online!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Also, I know that the whole webchat thing isn't really supposed to be here, but there is no other way to write the conversations. So, to solve this problem, they are no longer just webchats! Why? Because from now on, Naruto will read each message out loud...even his own. So you see? It's not a webchat, it's a narration by own character that just happens to inform us of what the other characters are typing. (Loopholes...you gotta love em. XD)**

**So, aside from my clever new strategy, please enjoy the next chapter.  
**

* * *

"Calm down!"

"Calm down? _Calm_ _down_!"

"Uh..._yes_?"

"_How_ can I calm down!"

Sakura blinked at me. "Well, there are several breathing exercises you can try." She suggested, trailing off slightly.

I glared at her, my arms falling to hang loosely at my sides.

I mean, how could _she_ be so calm? Here I was, going through one of the _biggest_ overreactions of my life, and she was telling me to _calm down_?

What was she, _insane_?

"Sakura-chan. I have been talking to this guy for so long, I've come to consider him a good friend, and now he wants to actually meet up in person after finding out we live in the same area!" I recited, waving my arms around at the end bit.

Sakura nodded. "And...what's the issue?" she questioned.

I groaned. "Sakura-chan, think about it! How do people react when meeting me for the first time?"

She thought for a moment, and by the slight frown I knew she'd realized what my problem was.

Oh, you probably don't get it? Well, I mentioned before that people don't like me for some reason.

Often, when I meet someone for the first time, they're all smiles. Then the dreaded question of, 'what's your full name?' comes up.

As soon as they hear the name 'Uzumaki', they scowl and leave.

Once, an old lady even whacked my head with a handbag before trotting away.

Evil old hag.

I've tried several times to find out why everyone seems to hate me so much, but every time I ask someone what I did wrong, they just glower at me and walk off.

It gets really frustrating.

"So, you're afraid that this guy won't want to be friends with you after he finds out who you really are?" she confirms. I nod and she sighed heavily. "Naruto, I don't think that's the case this time."

I sat down on my bed next to her, lacing my fingers together and resting my chin on them. We were in my apartment again. I had called Sakura-chan only a few minutes after going offline. I hadn't even confirmed anything with Avenger. I could imagine him scowling at his screen when I suddenly disappeared.

I snickered to myself at the image of some kid with an emo-hairdo swearing a masterpiece at the computer screen.

Sakura gave me the classic 'WTF' look, and I quickly steeled myself back into 'overreaction' mode. "Why do you think it'll be any different?" I inquired.

She crossed her arms, turning her upper half to face me. "Because, you have been talking to him long enough that you guys got pretty close, right?"

I nodded slowly. Although we'd never met, I did feel like I could trust Avenger with some heavy secrets. I'd say we were as close as people could be through an internet game.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, since he knows so much about you, he might be able to see past the rumours or stories or whatever the reasons are that make people act the way they do around you. He could very easily say 'screw what people think, I know the real you'." She explained, smiling cheerfully.

I thought about it, slowly realizing that she did have a point.

Maybe he would think that way. Maybe he would still want to be my friend even after finding out my full name.

"So...you think I should meet him?" I asked, slowly. Sakura smiled brighter, before her face took on a dark tone.

"Not by yourself." She said seriously. I blinked in surprise at the change of pace.

"Why not?"

"Because, there is still the fact that we don't know him in person. He might be some creepy paedophile person who's looking to kidnap you and have his man-babies with you!" she said.

We both blinked before bursting out into hysterical laughter. I rolled off the bed, landing hard on the floor, but it didn't deter my laughing in the slightest. Sakura was clutching her stomach with one hand while hitting the bedspread with her other. Her heart shaped face was bright with amusement.

When it finally died down slightly, I sat up, rubbing my eyes to rid them of any tears. "Okay, well, aside from the threat of me being forced to have man-babies, what other reasons do you have?" I choked. She giggled before pinching herself, trying to get back into serious mode.

"Well, he might be dangerous. Also, he might've been lying about his age and several things. It would just be safer if someone went with you." She said.

I raised my eyebrow. "You meant you." I said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

She was the only other person, aside from Jiraiya, who knew of the internet gaming thing. Iruka-sensei would've had a fit and gone off about safety and this and that, while Tsunade-no-baachan would've gotten drunk and forgotten about it anyway.

She smiled and nodded eagerly. "Exactly. Tell him you'll meet him, and then I'll come along for the ride! It will be interesting to meet this guy in person." She said.

I knew that innocent look.

She was plotting _pure evil_ when she had that look.

"What are you planning?" I asked, pointing accusingly in her face. She raised her hands, giving a fake gasp of hurt.

"You are doubting my love and kindness to you? You _doubt _my _care _for your _safety_? How could you? I am simply trying to avoid the possibility of my best friend being raped and man-handled by some pervert, and then used to create and house man-babies!" she defended, placing the back of her hand to her forehead and turning away in theatrical drama.

I grinned. "Oh that's right. Because if anyone's going to have my man-babies, it will be you, won't it?" I said, waggling my eyebrows at her.

She smirked. "But of course. I'm planning to impregnate _you_, Naru-chan!" She pounced, causing the both of us to fall to the ground in laughter. We wrestled around, but the end result was the same as it always had been.

Sakura-chan won.

She was sitting proudly on my back, holding my legs up behind me. I struggled against her hold, but she had always been stronger than me.

Now, don't get the crazy notion that I was a major weakling! I could hold my own against anyone, but Sakura-chan was the exception. She was so strong it was almost inhuman. She once punched a guy clear across the room after he called her ugly.

Megumi Sai never was the same after that. He no longer smiled around her. Instead it was always a very guarded look.

Can't blame him. The day after the punch he came to school with another head!

On. His. _Cheek_.

"Give up, Naruto!" She ordered, grinning as she pulled my legs higher. I yelped loudly, hands scrabbling against the floor.

"_Never_!" I wailed, tilting my head back to look at her through an upside down view. She did the same and our foreheads touched. We stared at each other for a moment in silence.

Of course, I just _had _to break it.

"Holy shit! I can feel your brain pulsing in your head!" I exclaimed.

She burst out laughing, her eyes squeezing shut in humour. I followed suit.

Neither of us noticed the door swing open.

It was only when there was a soft cough that we turned to the doorway.

Light was streaming outside, forcing the face of my visitor in shadow.

But I knew that hairstyle anywhere.

Uchiha.

"W-What are you doing on my house!" I demanded.

Sasuke's eyes slowly examined us as he took in our undoubtedly strange position. "I'm working. Mail delivery. I knocked and the door opened by itself." He said slowly. His eyes locked on mine. "Sorry to interrupt...whatever this is."

Sakura and I looked at each other before hastily climbing to our feet. She cleared her throat awkwardly while I scowled and stomped over to the raven.

The bastard was smirking at me!

Jerk.

"So, what've you got for me?" I asked. He dug a hand into his messenger bag, which I hadn't noticed before, and pulled out a small, slightly bulging envelope. He held it out and I eagerly snatched it away.

Hey, I didn't get letters often, let alone gifts!

"What is it?" Sakura asked excitedly. Without bothering to turn to her I ripped the envelop open and pulled the letter out, reading it quickly.

"It's from..." I frowned. "It doesn't say who."

Sakura walked up beside me and read the note out loud. "I sent this ahead of time. I hope we can use it when I finally see you again." She blinked. "What does that mean?"

I shrugged and turned to look at what was left inside the letter. The contents made me yell out in shock and disgust and I quickly threw the packet away, gift and all.

Sakura frowned. "What's wrong? What was it?" she asked. I glanced over to see the raven boy still standing there.

"What are you still doing here?"

"You need to sign, idiot."

I growled, snatching the pen and scribbling onto the small sheet of paper he offered. He neatly tucked it away, snatching the pen back and nodding. I shut the door behind him and went over to my bed, slumping down and sighing.

A slight rustle, followed by a cry of 'Ew! What the hell?' brought my attention over to Sakura, who was kneeling by the dustbin. In her hands she held the envelope, staring inside.

"Naruto! What is the meaning of this!" she demanded, glaring at me. I glared back.

"I have no idea! I've never gotten something like this before!"

She grimaced, pulling out the small condom package and examining it. "Why the hell would someone send you a packet of condoms? Are you talking to some stripper over the net or something?" she asked, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

"What! Are you insane! Of course not! I don't talk to anyone! Well, aside from the guys from Shaiya, but none of them know my address let alone street!" I said seriously.

Sakura glanced over to the bin, a concerned expression over taking her face. "Then...who sent it?"

I shrugged. "Maybe it was the wrong address." I suggested. She bit her lower lip nervously.

"Have you noticed anyone following you at all? Maybe someone watching you closely?" she asked.

I thought back, trying to recall any sort of moment. "Nope. Nothing." I said, shaking my head.

Sakura frowned again, her forehead creasing slightly with worry and thought.

I watched her for a moment before placing my palm flat on her forehead, soothing out the wrinkles. She blinked up at me in surprise when I grinned. "Don't worry so much Sakura-chan. I'm sure it's nothing. Just a mistake."

"But-"

"No buts! Not another word on the subject!" I said strictly. She sighed and nodded, my hand moving with her. I grinned again, this time mischeiveously. "Now then. If you want me to give you my man-babies, you'll have to beat me in a game of Poker!" I declared.

She smirked. "Then they're all mine, Mr. Luckless."

"Hey! I'm not that unlucky!"

"You lost to a five year old."

"I let him win!"

"No...You didn't."

"...Shut up. My man-babies will never be yours!" I said, standing up and huffing.

"No! Give them to me!" she screeched, clawing at my legs and dragging me down.

I just laughed as another round of wrestling ensued.

* * *

**Kyuubi has joined the game.**

I took a deep breath to steady my fingers. Why was I so nervous?

...Because I was about to tell someone I'd never met where to meet me.

Why is it that I feel so scared? I mean, it doesn't sound bad at all! I'm just meeting a friend!

That's right! He's friend, a good friend. We'll meet, still be best friends and spend long and happy lives as friends, ending up growing old and sitting in creaky old chairs telling stories of our great friendship to our man-baby grandchildren.

...

Okay, the whole 'pep-talk' thing doesn't work on Narutos, apparently.

"Come on, Uzumaki! Just like Sakura-chan told you to say. It's going to be fine." I whispered to myself, watching as my character strolled through one of the main cities. There were players everywhere, some trading items, other's duelling each other while others were getting missions or stocking up on various items and weapons.

I breathed in deeply again, smiling as I took in the surroundings. Sure, I wasn't there physically, but to me it didn't matter. I was in that world, as far as I was concerned.

I decided to quit avoiding the inevitable and looked at my friend list to start chatting to Avenger.

Clicking on the icon, I held my breath as it popped up. Almost painfully slow, I moved the cursor to the tab that said 'buddies' and clicked on it, the sound echoing in my mind.

The breath left me with a loud whooshing sound.

**Avenger: Offline.**

Well, I guess I _could _avoid the inevitable for another day after all.

Sighing, I let my head fall to the table top, my hair falling into my eyes. I wasn't sure whether I felt relieved or disappointed.

"Maybe a bit of both." I murmured in answer to my own conflict.

Raising my head, I peered at my friend list again, grinning when I noticed that WolfPack01 was online. He was the only one.

Smart guy.

Typing a quick message, I started walking out of the town to start slaying some monsters. Reverting back to my old habit, I read the message out loud to myself, making it seem like he could hear me.

"**Kyuubi to WolfPack01:** Hey there loser! Wanna do some exploring together?"

I laughed at the angry reply he sent, picturing someone cursing loudly in his room. Once again, I read it aloud.

"**WolfPack01: **Screw you jackass! Go get bent!"

Poor WolfPack01. He always did forget to use the whisper option. Since his message was public, everyone thought he was talking to them and immediately threw a fit.

"**AtomKing: **What the hell?"

"**SoulEaterRocks:** Who're you calling jackass, you jackass?"

"**LuvMeOrDie:** YOU go get bent!"

I slammed my fist on the table, laughter erupting out of my mouth as WolfPack01 began arguing with all the different people. I should've figured he'd pick a fight rather than apologize and explain who it was for.

"**Head-Of-The-Knights:** You should be ashamed for talking this way to others. That is so rude and impolite. We haven't done anything to you and yet to talk this way to us."

I couldn't resist. My fingers were already moving.

"**Kyuubi:** Yeah, how could you be so mean to us innocent people? Didn't you learn any manners?"

Immediately, a small window opened up. I stared at the message and smirked.

**WolfPack01 has challenged you to a duel. Do you accept?**

Grinning, I clicked 'yes' and got ready to roll.

People gathered around us, obviously interested in seeing someone kick the 'rude jackass's' butt.

Several messages were posted, cheering me on. My grin grew so wide until my cheeks felt ready to split.

"**WolfPack01:** You're going down, Nine-tails!"

His character came running towards me, slashing through the air. I jumped back, a large red 'MISS' appearing before disappearing. I could practically hear the guy growling in frustration. Laughing at my small advantage of having gained a level that morning, I set about attacking him. Several hits and a few misses later, his character fell to the floor with a dramatic groan.

I made my character pose for victory and smirked.

Suddenly there was a loud banging noise to my right. I jumped, staring at the wall. Faintly, I heard the voice of my new neighbour screaming.

"..Ucking asswipe! Stupid, stupid piece of shit! If I ever get a hold of him, he's dead!"

I thought the gruff voice was familiar, but couldn't put a face to it. Suddenly, an even gruffer female voice broke through my neighbour's rant.

"Shut up! It's getting late and no one wants to hear your stupid ranting!"

I sniggered, feeling slightly sorry for the poor sap living next to me. Either his wife or his mother was the one who yelled, but whoever the guy was, he had just been owned by a chick, judging by the loud yelp of pain I'd heard.

Creeping over to the wall, I thumped my fist against it and yelled "Better luck next time mister! I'm sure you'll get whatever it was right in the end!"

A loud thump replied to my own. "Shut it, brat!"

"Who're you calling brat?" I yelled back.

"You, dipwad!"

"Jackass!"

"_Agh_! Who the hell are you anyway?" the voice screamed angrily.

"You're neighbour! Nice to meet you!" I called back cheerfully.

Several loud thumps were heard before the noise died down. I laughed to myself, feeling proud that I had just made someone's night even worse.

...Did that make me evil?

...

...Nah.

Grinning, I turned back to my screen and continued in my exploration of my virtual world.

* * *

**So, can you guess who Naruto's new neighbour is? Lol, XD!**

**So, there is the chapter. Short, yes, but it gets a few things done. New questions arise, no? Questions like: Who sent the strange and suggestive letter? When will Naruto and Sa-er, I mean- AVENGER- meet? What will they do when they do meet? **

**Find out(maybe ¬_¬) in the next chapter of Online!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey there , this chapter is short and such, but for some reason I just couldn't get into writing this particular one. Sorry if it's not that great, but the story does move on slightly here.**

**So, yeah, not much to say. Enjoy!**

* * *

Monday came by slowly.

I hadn't logged in to Shaiya throughout the whole of Sunday.

It's not like I was avoiding talking to Avenger or anything! I just...got..._bored_?

...

Okay, you caught me. I was even more bored while sitting there doing absolutely nothing. I had spent the day walking around my apartment, banging on random things and doing useless things.

I even finished my homework _before _seven!

Something was wrong with me.

The only fun I had had been when, at around eight, my new neighbour got noisy again. The guy started singing at the top of his lungs.

And what's worse, he sang the 'Witch Doctor' song.

I had kick boxed my wall shouting "Shut up you freak! No one wants to know what the damn witchdoctor told you!"

My neighbour had replied by kicking his own wall and shouting "Screw you! Ooh, eeh, ooh ah ah, ting tang, wallawallabingbang!"

I had to put my earphones in to drown out the terrible singing.

I mean...he wasn't even in tune!

Now it was Monday morning and I was dragging my feet to class. The halls were way too bright in my opinion. Why the hell did they paint the school hallways white, anyway? It reminded me of some mental institution.

Then again, some people acted pretty crazy in this place.

Maybe it _was_ a mental institution, and I was just too crazy to realize it before!

"Hey, Naruto!"

I spun around, pointing an accusing finger at my pink haired friend. "And _you_! You're a nurse here! You're my personal doctor aren't you!" I yelled.

Sakura stopped in mid-step, her eyes going wide. "What?"

"This place! It's so white, it has got to be a mental institution, and since they assign personal doctors, you must be mine! I'm right aren't I?" I said smugly.

She grinned, quickly trying to replace it with a look of guilt. "You have caught me, my poor crazy patient! Yes, you are in a mental institution." She said, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving me a fake, understanding look.

She was _just _like a nurse!

"So, what did I do that got me in here?" I asked, playing up the act by drooling a bit. Sakura blinked and looked at me seriously.

"You claimed to be having my man-babies."

How she managed to say that, in front of several students and a drooling blonde(as in, myself) and still keep a straight face for over ten seconds, I'll never know.

We both erupted into laughter, causing the other students to hurry away in fear of 'catching their craziness'.

"But, seriously, Naruto. How are you?" Sakura asked after we'd regained what little composure we had. I hummed evasively.

"I'm fine."

"Did you talk to him? When are we meeting him?" she asked eagerly.

I shrugged, glancing away. "He wasn't online and I didn't log in yesterday." I said casually.

She stopped, staring at me. "You're avoiding it?" she asked surprised. I glared at her.

"No!"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"It's okay. You don't want to meet him yet. That's perfectly fine."

"I'm not avoid-_oh_. So you don't mind?"

"Of course not!" she said, patting my head. I grumbled but it gave way to a smile.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan."

She beamed, giving me a half hug just as the bell rang. We hurried to class, stumbling to our seats and waiting for our teacher to come in.

I let my eyes wander around as we sat waiting. I already knew that Kakashi-sensei would be late. He always was. It was just the way he worked.

A familiar duck-butt hairstyle caught my eye and I observed the class president carefully. He was standing, his uniform as crisp and clean as ever, at the front of the class. I scoffed quietly at how pristine he looked.

Leave it to the Uchiha to be a total neat freak.

'Hmmm...Avenger said he was a neat freak too.' I thought suddenly. I looked at Sasuke carefully.

Could it be...?

I laughed out loud at my thoughts, getting half the class to stare at me with 'WTF' expressions.

There was just no way my random thought could be true. It was way too crazy.

Sighing to myself for the stupid thought, I greeted the tardy teacher along with everyone else.

* * *

"Ugh, you're such an idiot."

And once again, I hate my life.

Sakura and I were sitting on a bench, enjoying our lunch and talk of my insanity, when a few girls had walked by.

I had been trying to open my juice (you know, the one that has those really, really tight caps on the top?) when the stupid cap broke and my juice sprayed right into my face. Sakura had immediately searched for a tissue while I tried to wipe away some of the remnants, thanking whatever higher power there was that it hadn't sprayed onto my chest. My shirt only had a few droplets on it.

It had been at that point when the leader of the group of girls, a red haired, bespectacled girl named Karin had decided to make the comment that I heard daily.

I just stared at the ground as the girl continued her speech of how worthless I was. Sakura was tensing beside me, her fists clenching her skirt angrily.

"-and you're never going to get anywhere in life, so I don't see why you bother. You should just go somewhere and die-" Karin was cut off when a hand grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around roughly.

"Hey, bitch, leave him alone!" a gruff voice yelled.

I blinked and looked up, surprised that anyone was sticking up for me aside from Sakura. Upon seeing a familiar head of shaggy brown hair and red, fang tattooes, I gaped at the kid.

Inuzuka Kiba was sticking up for me?

Karin glared at the boy, slapping his hand away in disgust and smirking. "Oh? Why, are you friends with that little no-body?" she sneered. Kiba crossed his arms, not at all intimidated.

"And so what if I was? Got a problem slut?" he challenged, narrowing his eyes at her.

She bristled, but then another voice interrupted. This one was smooth and cool.

"Is there a problem here?"

We all turned to see none other than The Great Duck-Butt himself standing there, eyeing us coldly.

Karin and her groupies grew flustered, giggling excitedly. "Oh, nothing at all, Sasuke-kun!" Karin gushed.

Kiba scoffed, turning to the Uchiha. "This chick was suggesting Uzumaki should die even though he didn't do anything." He stated, throwing a glare over to the girl.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "That type of talk is not tolerable in this school, Karin-san." He said sternly.

She blushed. "Oh, please, just call me Karin, Sasuke-kun."

I resisted the urge to face-palm. She didn't even hear the first part!

Sasuke shook his head and sighed. "I don't want to hear of this matter again. If it happens once more, I'll report it to Sarutobi-sensei." He warned, and turned on his heel, heading away. Karin and her friends chased after him, not even sparing a glance at the rest of us.

Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I looked over to Sakura, who was watching me with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.

I nodded and gave a smile. "Sure! I don't care what she thinks of me." I said. But Sakura didn't seem convinced. Her hand squeezed my shoulder.

"You know you're going to be a great man someday, right?" she asked.

I lowered my smile, surprised at the comment and the certainty in her voice. "Sakura-chan..."

"Not to interrupt this _beautiful _moment or anything, but can I sit with you guys?"

We turned to look up at Kiba, who was standing there with his hands in his pockets, a grin on his face. Sakura removed her hand and nodded. "Sure thing, Inuzuka-kun."

"Pfft. Don't call me that! Just Kiba is fine. I hate formalities." He said, sitting down next to me. I grinned.

"Well, then call me Naruto. And this is Sakura." I introduced. He nodded.

"Yeah, I know about you guys. You've got quite a few rumours going around." He said.

Sakura frowned. "What rumours?"

Kiba cupped his chin in thought. "Well, there was one about how you two were together or something, but that's pretty old now." He looked to us for confirmation.

I laughed. "Sakura-chan and I aren't a couple." I turned and winked at her. "Well, not _all _the time."

She punched my shoulder lightly, smiling. "No, we're not a couple. But what else are they saying?"

Kiba thought a bit more, chewing his lip. "Uh...there was one saying that Naruto was really a girl."

I choked on my sandwich, feeling two hands thump my back. Swallowing what was once good food, I stared incredulously at Kiba. "They think I'm a chick?"

He laughed. "They used to. I'm not sure when it started, but one day I heard someone saying that you were a girl. Something about seeing you with a pack of tampons or something..."

I turned to glare at Sakura. "That's the last time I do your shopping for you! Now people think I'm some sort of She-man!" I growled. Sakura giggled behind her hand, not at all remorseful.

"Well, you are very feminine."

"Shut up, Sakura-chan." I grumbled, crossing my arms and pouting. Kiba was laughing loudly beside me.

"You're a funny guy. I knew I should have talked to you sooner." He said. Sakura and I glanced at each other before turning to him.

"So why didn't you?" Sakura asked. Kiba scratched his head, turning to look at me.

"I don't know. It's just...you kind of give off this... 'don't touch me' vibe, or something." He muttered. I blinked.

"A 'don't touch me' vibe? What are you talking about? I don't give off any vibe!" I insisted. He raised an eyebrow, before his hand suddenly shot towards me. I flinched away and he pulled back, looking smug.

"Oh no. Of course not."

"That doesn't count! You just surprised me!" I said. He shrugged and held his hand up.

"I'm now going to touch your shoulder." He stated, before plopping his hand down easily. I gulped, unused to the large size or rough feel of his hand. I'd only ever really felt Sakura's hand, the occasional pat from Iruka-sensei and Jiraiya, and maybe a hug from Tsunade.

Kiba looked surprised, starting to rub my shoulder. "Wow, you're really thin! You need to eat more!" he stated, squeezing slightly. I tried to fight down the blush while Sakura giggled at my expense. I glared at her before shrugging Kiba's hand off.

"You see 'Don't touch me' vibe, _right _there." He said triumphantly. I scowled.

"So what? I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't feel all that comfortable at being touched." I grumbled. Kiba waved his hand dismissively.

"Sure, sure. I know that. But I'm just letting you know that you give off quite a strong one. Maybe if you tried to be a bit more...open to new people, you wouldn't be so unapproachable." He suggested.

I stayed silent. Was that the reason everyone always treated me badly? Because I was unapproachable? Surely that can't be right.

"Kiba, do you know why people think so poorly of Naruto?" Sakura asked bluntly. I winced, my eyes darting to the boy beside me.

Kiba seemed surprised at the question. "Actually...I have no clue. I've heard how people talk to you, but I always thought maybe you'd done something to them personally. You mean to say you don't know why they act that way?" he asked.

I shrugged. "No. People just act like I'm a waste of space. Every time I try to find out why, they just ignore me. I have no idea what I did wrong." I said truthfully.

Kiba growled loudly, punching his palm. "I _hate _that! If people are going to treat someone that way, they should at least have the decency to explain themselves!" he snarled.

I felt my heart swell a bit at his words. I hadn't heard anyone say that sort of thing before, aside from Sakura-chan and Tsunade-no-baachan. Iruka-sensei always told me it ignore them and the old pervert Jiraiya would just pat my shoulder and say 'Don't worry. Now read my newest book!'

...I'm not kidding. He made me proofread his porn.

And I'm a minor!

For the rest of the lunch period, Kiba hung out with us. I was surprised with how well we got along. He was loud and cocky and cheeky and always planning mischief.

He was like my long lost twin! _Awesome_!

Sakura-chan commented how 'she couldn't believe she had to deal with two morons instead of one' but both me and Kiba just grinned and hugged her. I was amazed at how easy it was to talk to him.

And I didn't even know that this was just the start of all the changes in my life.

* * *

I was almost asleep. A dream was just crawling towards me, the edges just beyond reach. I so wanted to slip into that dream and enjoy myself.

Just as I grasped the edge of that dream, something hit me in the side of the head, startling me from my semi-slumber.

I groaned loudly at having been disturbed and turned to glare at the offending object on my desk.

I blinked.

A note?

Looking around the classroom, I had no idea where the note came from. No one was facing me, or giving any sort of indication of having thrown a small piece of paper at my head.

Shrugging, I unfolded the paper and read the short, but relatively neat scrawl.

I almost choked on the air going into my lungs.

_You're cute when you sleep, but I'd rather see you writhing beneath me and moaning in ecstasy. All in due time, my dear blonde._

What. The. Fuck?

Scanning the room frantically, I tried to find the culprit. Who would write something like this? Who would send this to me?

What the fuck was going on?

When no one gave any indication of having written something so perverted, I stared down at the piece of paper in shock and disgust.

First a letter in the mail, with a condom packet.

And now an even more suggestive note in my classroom.

Glancing around once more, I felt uneasy. Someone in this classroom sent this to me, and I was pretty sure they had sent the letter to my house too. But who was it?

I couldn't recall anyone ever talking to me suggestively...well, sexually suggestive. Plenty of people '_suggested_' I go and die, but I try not to pay attention to them.

I stiffened when I sensed a pair of eyes on me. Somewhere behind me.

Glancing as casually as I could over my shoulder, I saw three students.

One was a boy called Morino Idate. He had dark brown hair, tied up in a spiked ponytail. Some small part of my mind noted that spiky ponytails seemed to be a popular hairstyle.

I smacked myself, hopefully destroying the useless braincell that dare interrupt my panicking session.

Behind Idate was a really creepy guy. His name was something Sai. I couldn't remember his last name. Did he even have one?

He was paper white, with short black hair and the most plastic smile on the face of the planet. Even Barbie couldn't compete.

He was staring down at his book, but glanced up when he felt my gaze on him. The smile he gave me seemed just as fake as all the others.

The last was a boy I had only spoken to once. He had silver hair, tied into a (insert fake surprise here) ponytail. He wore large, round spectacles and was also focused on his work.

His name was Yakushi Kabuto.

On the one occasion I had spoken to him, he had helped me pick up my fallen books. Someone had, intentionally I bet, bumped into me while I was balancing an armload of heavy volumes. They had toppled, along with me, to the floor. Everyone else walked straight past, some kicking the books even further away from me. But Kabuto had stopped and helped me pick them up.

"Are you hurt?" he had asked. I had gotten a tiny scratch on my elbow, and he had immediately applied a band aid.

That was one of the few times someone I didn't know showed me kindness. I thanked him eternally for that.

It seemed he also had a sixth sense, for he looked up after I watched him for over ten seconds. When he saw me he smiled and waved a bit. I smiled back, returning the wave with a slightly less enthusiastic one before turning to face the front.

My sixth sense must be screwed, because as soon as I turned, I felt eyes on me again.

For the rest of the lesson, I glanced around nervously, the suggestive note scrunched tightly in my hand.

* * *

Sakura had work after school, so she ran off after saying a quick goodbye. Kiba had detention. Again.

So I was left walking home alone today. On my way home, my mind was reeling with thoughts of stalkers, letters and online games.

I couldn't avoid Avenger forever, but...I didn't want to have to answer him just yet.

Just one more day. I'd avoid him for one more day.

Sighing loudly, I walked a little faster. It was looking to be another boring night.

Maybe I could screw with my neighbour again? I needed to get him back for the horrible singing yesterday.

Grinning at my newfound plan, I whistled the rest of the way home, only stopping in horror when I reached my door, realizing that I'd been whistling the 'Witchdoctor' song.

* * *

**Yeah...so...uh...yeah... *looks around awkardly.***

**So, we now have a perverted presence around Naruto, as well as the entrance of a new friend. And there's also the point of Naruto avoiding Avenger(say that five times fast) and so on. **

**So,...review? Please?**

**Come on people, MOTIVATE ME!...bribery often works... ¬_¬ lol. XD**

**See you next time!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**LOLOLOLOL! I LIIIIVE! -rises from bed- ... Hi! ^w^**

**Sorry it took a while to get this up, but I just couldn't get into it until now, you know? It was like one of those dang... -searches for word- ... BLANK moments. Yeah. A B-moment.**

**Buuut, here I am with another chapter for all you lovely readers!**

**And I'd like to say THANK YOU to all the people who reviewed. You're all awesome and I'm going to keep going just for you lovely peeps! -gathers you all and hugs you- FEEL THE LOVE!**

**Lol, sorry, I'm hyper again. **

**Anyway...this author's note is long enough. Just the warnings and disclaimer left.**

**Warnings: Annoying songs(which may get stuck in your head XD) some swearing, a bastard teacher and... yup. . **

**Disclaimer: Do I own Naruto? No. Do I own the song used? No. Do I own anything? ...well,...there is that top..no wait, it's my cousin's...so No. I own nothing.**

**OH OH OH! THERE'S A SHORT SASUKE POV AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! JUST LETTING YOU KNOW!**

**And on with the story! ONLINE!  
**

* * *

Everything was ready.

I had it all set up.

Now, all I had left to do...was _wait_.

I stood in the centre of my room, standing with my legs slightly parted and my hands clenched. It had taken me some time to get it all ready, but this was it.

I was ready to rock and roll.

Suddenly, a muffled voice came from my right.

"-going to have a nap now! Wake me up when dinner's ready!"

Score!

Grinning wickedly to myself, I couldn't stop the evil laughter that escaped my lips. This was going to be so awesome.

Sure, I might get some shit for it later but right now, I really couldn't care.

This was going to be sweet.

I listened carefully, until I was sure my oh-so-gracious neighbour was most likely on the edge of sleep.

Show time.

Swiftly turning around, I pressed the small button on my laptop, starting up the music.

At first, it started with a crowd cheering loudly. I knew I could've chosen a more annoying song, but something was telling me this one would work.

Soon, the lyrics began, and I started singing as loudly as I could, holding back my laughter when I heard, even over the music, the distinct sound of someone crashing to the floor and a string of curses.

Ignoring the loud banging on my wall, I continued to sing.

"I am a superstar, with a big, big house and a big, big car! I am a superstar and I don't care who you are!" I sang, imagining the look on my neighbours face.

How I did that without knowing what he looked like at all is still a mystery to me.

As the song got further, the banging stopped. I frowned and turned the music off. Was he giving up already?

Oh well, victory for me, nonetheless. Smiling and patting myself on my back for my achievement, I went about packing away the loud-speakers I'd found in my closet.

Before I could do more than unplug them, however, my door was attacked with a barrage of loud bangs, making me jump a foot in the air.

"Get your ass out here!" a voice yelled.

I flinched.

Shit. I hadn't thought about what I'd do if he ever tried to confront me. What if he was a huge ass body builder who could snap me like a brittle twig?

As the knocking continued, I gulped and carefully edged towards the door, sending a few prayers up to whoever was watching over me.

If there was someone like that, anyway.

Deciding I wanted to get a glimpse at my imminent death before going through with it, I opened the small peephole on my door and, well, peeped through.

Cue major jaw drop moment.

Backing away I wrenched the door open, getting a small glimpse at brown hair before a fist was streaking towards my face. "I'm going to kick your ass you li-"

Thank god for my super quick reflexes. I managed to duck just in time and the fist soared over my head. However, from the sudden pause, I guessed he just realized the same thing as I did.

"...Naruto?"

Smiling sheepishly, I straightened up. "Hey...Kiba."

Kiba blinked at me, his fist withdrawing slowly. He looked utterly confused. "Uh...is your...brother home?" he asked unsurely.

I raised an eyebrow. "Brother? What are you talking about?"

He let his fist fall down. "Well, someone was singing really badly just now, and I assumed that maybe you had a little brother, since the song was really childish." He explained.

I grinned and crossed my arms. "Aw, what? You didn't like my awesome singing?" I said in mock hurt.

He gaped before pointing a finger in my face. "It was YOU!" he yelled accusingly. My grin grew as I pushed the finger away with my own.

"Great work, Sherlock Holmes. Would you like a medal?" I asked sarcastically.

He glared at me for a moment, but I could see the amusement swimming in his eyes. "So...You're my annoying neighbour?" he asked, as if expecting me to vanish in a puff of smoke.

I nodded. "And you are mine. How lucky." I added teasingly.

He snorted, before looking over my shoulder. "Is there anyone else here?"

"Nope. Just me."

"Sakura?"

"Working."

"Oh...I'm guessing your parents are at work too?" he asked.

I just stared at him blankly. He didn't know? I was sure all the people in school knew. Half of them teased me about the fact that I was an orphan.

"...Naruto?" he waved a hand in front of my face, but it took me a few seconds to react.

"Uh...no. No they're not at work." I mumbled uncomfortably. Would he dislike me if he knew? For some reason, a lot of people seemed to think I was bad because I was an orphan. Like I was some kind of psychopath. But I wasn't!

Once again, that title belonged to Sabakuno Gaara.

"Then...they're out? On a business trip?" he asked.

"...No."

He crossed his arms, obviously getting annoyed at my lack of elaboration. "Then where are they?" he asked impatiently.

I shrugged. "No idea. I never knew them."

His arms fell and his face immediately turned guilty. "Shit man, I'm sorry. I didn't...I didn't know."

"It's okay." I said quickly, waving a hand to silence him. He nodded, still looking guilty. I couldn't help but picture a small puppy that had just been caught chewing the slippers when I looked at him.

We stood in an awkward silence for a few moments before I cleared my throat. "So, uh, you wanna come in for a bit?" I offered. He brightened and nodded.

I stepped aside and let him into my small home, letting the door fall shut behind me. He looked around, smirking at the speakers I'd set up. "You really went all out for me didn't you?" he asked, rolling his eyes. I grinned.

"Of course. I live to please!"

We laughed together, settling down on my bed. His gaze roamed over the few pictures of me and Sakura that I had on the walls, as well as ones with Iruka-sensei, Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"So, what have you been up to?" he asked absently, trying to fill in the silence. I shrugged before grinning deviously.

"Just plotting the various ways to annoy the shit out of you."

He put on a forced-wide eyed expression. "Wow! I was doing the exact same thing!" he grinned.

"Well, you know what they say..." I trailed off, hoping he would finish the old saying. He scrunched his nose.

"Don't eat yellow snow?"

I smacked him. "No you imbecile! The old saying 'Great minds think alike!' But then again, I can see it doesn't apply to you after all."

He gave a mock growl, but the stupid grin on his face told otherwise.

We spent the rest of the evening together, laughing, telling jokes and getting into plenty of mini-brawls.

Finally, just as we were in the middle of a heated tournament of thumb-wars, there was another knock on my apartment door. Kiba was distracted, and I took the opportunity to snag his thumb down, starting to count.

He yelled out in protest, trying to free his thumb but I held him down.

"Three! I win!" I jumped up, pumping my fists in the air and hooting with victory. Kiba groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Dammit!"

"Aw, don't worry Dog-boy. I'm sure you'd be able to beat a toddler at least." I jeered, poking the side of his head. He whipped around, snapping his jaw at my fingers. I just laughed until another set of knocks came.

Rushing to answer the door, I almost blanched at the stern gaze greeting me. Outside stood a tall, very _butch_-looking woman. Her hair was about shoulder length and extremely shaggy, her face was wild and her eyes were narrow.

"Sorry to disturb you, but is my dinner-ducking son here?" she asked, her voice as rough as her appearance.

I looked over my shoulder and blinked. Kiba was currently trying to hide behind the pillows on my bed-which-is-also-like-my-couch. The woman in front of me followed my line of sight and snorted.

"You're not fooling anyone Kiba." She said. When all the boy did was burrow further and remain still, she sighed, giving me a look.

I stepped aside without hesitation, my hand sweeping the air to grant her entrance. She nodded and quickly strolled across the threshold to the pathetically-hiding boy.

I could only gape as, with one arm, she grabbed her sons exposed ankle and pulled him out from the pillows. He let out a yelp, followed by a strangled cry as the woman easily hoisted him over her shoulder. She slapped his backside, scowling and he yelped again.

The image of a mother dog scolding her pup washed in my mind.

"You're such an idiot, Kiba. Sorry to disturb you, but this kid needs to have dinner and get to bed." She said to me. I nodded, trying to keep my grin from breaking free.

As they passed, I mime-laughed at Kiba. He growled, but another sharp smack to his backside shut him up and he was carried away by his mother. I waved and called goodnight cheerfully before closing the door and bursting out into peals of laughter.

"Aah...poor Dog-boy." I snickered, walking over to my bed and slumping down.

Today hadn't been a bad day at all. I'd made a new friend, and had the pleasure of watching said friend get carried away by his mother.

Things like that didn't happen often around me, so it was a treat.

Later on, Kiba banged on his wall and shouted "Thanks for the _help _back then! What _kind _of friend are _you_?"

I laughed and shouted back "The kind that enjoys watching you get man-handled by _your own mother_!"

Kiba went to bed shortly after that, and I grinned, knowing he would get me back at school the next day.

With the thought that I now had two friends to hang out with, sleep came easily.

* * *

Waking up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was the stormy grey sky outside. I groaned, rolling over sleepily.

"Great...I can tell today's going to suck." I mumbled.

I lay still for a few moments, enjoying the warmth of my bed, before a thought occurred to me.

My alarm hasn't gone off.

Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I grabbed the small clock and peered at it. As soon as the numbers made sense, I jumped up with a loud curse.

"Fuck! It's already 7:30? **(1)**" I scrambled around, gathering my books, clothes and-much to my colourful cursing- unfinished homework.

Mizuki-sensei was going to kill me!

"Bloody hell!" I spat, wrenching my door open and darting out.

Halfway down the stairs, I realized I'd forgotten to _close_ my door, let alone _lock_ it.

Swearing more than a sailor, I shot back up stairs, yanking my door closed and fumbling with the keys until it was locked.

Spinning around, I sprinted as fast as my legs could carry me. It took about 45 minutes if I went at my normal pace, but today I was flying over the pavement.

Even so, I knew I was going to be late.

Especially when an ominous rumble of thunder sounded overhead.

When the school gates came into view, I almost cried upon seeing the large metal structures beginning to rumble closed.

I sped up, and saw a figure by the gates, operating them.

"HOLD THE GATE!" I screamed. The figure looked to me but didn't make any move to stop the gates.

Growling inside at the total jerk attitude, I ran faster, my legs screaming.

When I reached the gate, I literally dived through the small opening before they clanged shut behind me. Landing painfully, I winced as my hands met gravel.

"Ouch! Dammit, why didn't you hold the gates?" I asked, turning to glare at whoever was on gate duty.

"Hn. It's not my responsibility to get you to school on time. Next time, wake up earlier, dobe."

I glared even harder at the stuck up prick standing over me.

Uchiha didn't look to happy. In fact, after staring at his face a bit longer, I could see the constant twitch in his jaw, indicating how pissed off he was.

"What the hell's your problem asshole?" I snapped, nursing my hands. He scowled, his eyes dark with annoyance.

"My problem is incompetent morons like you, Uzumaki." He hissed before turning and striding away.

The jerk didn't even offer to help me up! Asshole!

"Stupid, freaking teme." I grumbled, climbing to my feet.

It was then the final bell rang, and I groaned.

Great, thanks to my little spat with the Duck-Butt, I was late for my first class.

Mizuki-sensei was going to have a field day.

* * *

I hate my life.

"Well, well Uzumaki. How nice of you to deem us worthy of your presence."

I really hate my life.

"Sorry, Mizuki-sensei."

"Shut up!"

I winced at the harsh command. I was standing in the front of the classroom, everyone's eyes on me. Mizuki-sensei was standing over me, a wicked leer on his face. He was going to torture me. I just knew it.

"Now then, Uzumaki. Since you seem to be so smart that it's fine for you to come in late to my lessons, how about you finish up the sums on the board?" he motioned to the board behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and felt my heart stop.

Those sums were fucking _long_! And _complex_! _And confusing_!

And I was having a mental breakdown.

At the obvious paling of my face, several scathing snickers were heard. If it had been anyone else up front, Mizuki-sensei would have told them to shut up, but seeing as it was me being mocked, he made no move to stop them.

I felt my stomach wrench painfully. He was openly humiliating me. I had been a few minutes late to his class, and yet he was going to make a fool out of me in front of everyone.

Sure, so maybe I wasn't the best student, but he never did this to anyone else. He would usually just snap at them to be on time and maybe give a detention. He never mocked anyone else this way.

"Well, Uzumaki? Hurry up, we don't have all day." He said, a sick smirk on his face. I clenched my fists, turning to the board.

He was trying to break me, the bastard. But I wasn't going to.

I stared up at the equations and sums, my mind blank. I had no idea where to even start.

Staring at the board, I could hear the snickers escalate into downright laughter as I stood, immobile.

Finally, I grit my teeth and turned to Mizuki. He looked smug.

"I can't." I grit out.

"You can't what?"

"I can't...solve these, Sensei." I said quietly. His smirk widened.

"I'm sorry, Uzumaki. I didn't quite catch that. Please speak louder. You do have a rather _large _mouth, so it shouldn't be _too _hard for you." He sneered.

I glared at him directly, anger licking my inside. "I said I can't solve the fucking problems!" I spat.

His face darkened and he straightened up. "Do not take that tone with me, brat." He growled. I glared at him defiantly, my hand still fisted at my sides.

Finally, he broke away, turning to write a on a slip of paper. "Detention, Uzumaki. An hour after school. No excuses, no _re-takes_ and _no bunking._** (2)**" He shoved the paper at me, and I snatched it away before striding to my seat, red faced from anger and embarrassment.

Sitting down, I crossed my arms on my desk and placed my head in them, willing away the frustrated tears that were gathering. I didn't want to give Mizuki the satisfaction of knowing he got to me.

The bastard would only make a show of it.

A gentle hand on my shoulder told me Sakura was there, but even her presence couldn't dull the throbbing pain in my chest.

I had known today wouldn't be a good day, but to think it would be like this. The others in the classroom were still cackling and whispering about how stupid I was. And Mizuki wasn't doing anything to stop them.

I refused to look up. I didn't want to look at anyone. I didn't want to see the smirks and sneer and everything else.

I just wanted to hide away in my arms until the day was over.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I glanced at the blonde kid out of the corner of my eye. He still had his head in his arms.

A very small, very small, pang of guilt occurred in my mind. I hadn't meant to snap at him at the gate earlier, and I didn't actually have anything against the kid.

I was sure the rumours about him were all a load of bullshit, anyway.

The only reason I'd been so angry with him was because I'd been having a shitty couple of days lately.

It didn't have anything to do with the blonde.

School had been annoying, what with all the clingy fan girls everywhere. And some of the teachers had been getting on my nerves. But my frustration ran deeper than that.

I was annoyed because of I still hadn't heard a reply.

Hn. I can see your confused. Well, as strange as it may seem, I, Uchiha Sasuke, am hooked on a MMORPG game called Shaiya.

Sure, it's a really geeky thing to do, but I don't care. It's a way to pass the time, and the people you can meet are rather interesting.

Like my current interest.

A complete idiot, from what I can tell, but there's something endearing about him. I enjoy talking to him, despite how painfully idiotic the conversations can be, I really do.

I have no clue what he looks like, or what his real name is.

All I know him by is 'Kyuubi'.

And I'd been interested in him for a while now. He sounded interesting, and there was just something about him that I liked, even though I'd never met him.

And then a miracle happened. I discovered he lived in Konoha as well.

For a moment, I'd been disbelieving. Surely that was too coincidental.

Of all the millions of countries, cities, towns and any other geographical term you can think of to use, he lived in my town?

It was too good to be true.

Now that I knew he was here, I couldn't help but want to meet him. I had a chance now.

But, this bring me to my current mood of bastard-ness.

The stupid idiot hadn't spoken to me! He'd been avoiding me, I knew it.

And it was pissing me off.

I turned away from the Uzumaki kid, my thoughts now focused on the one known as 'Kyuubi'. I really wanted to meet him. I wanted to see what he looked like, hear what his voice was like.

I wanted to know him.

And so, my frustration kept me in a foul mood for the rest of the day.

* * *

**(1)- ~Right, so I don't know about all your schools, but in my home country, we had to get to school by 7:45 and classes started at 8:00. And then we finished at 2:00 pm except on Friday, at which we finished at 1:00pm. So yeah, just letting you know in case your school times are different.**

**(2)- ~Once again, I'm not sure if it's only my schools or everyone's, but this was a term the teachers used when a student skipped a class. You know, playing hooky or so? So yeah, we called it bunking.**

**Aah, poor Naru-chan ne? Bad sensei, bad. LOL XD I IS EVIL! Yeah...anyway, so there we have the next chapter and, even though you all knew it anyway, we now confirm that Sasuke is Avenger (no duh eh?)**

**Lol, and you also see that Kiba was Naruto's oh-so-gracious-neighbour! Lol, who didn't see that coming? -_-**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Remember, make a difference and review! -plays sad-yet-motivational music- Come on, join the Review Revolution!**


	6. Chapter 6

**BEHOLD! I am alive! *crowd cheers before turning into angry mob* WAAH! I'm sorry it took a while! Don't hurt me!**

**Lol, anyway. Here we have the next chapter of Online!**

**Warnings: PERVERT! Random organizations forming and possibly evil plotting...oh, and a Sasuke POV at the end again. There'll be more of those in later chapters.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto comes to visit sometimes, but he always escaped before I can properly kidnap him...so yeah, I still don't own him. TT^TT**

**ONLINE!  
**

* * *

I gripped the sides of the basin tightly, biting my lip and clenching my eyes shut.

"Fuck!" I spat, ripping away from the cool tile and walking towards a stall. I slammed my fist against the door, knocking it open to reveal the empty stall beyond. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair.

I was having a bad day.

I had hoped that things would be fine once first period was over, but the world was out to get me. Our second period teacher was absent, and therefore they got a substitute to watch over us. And it just so happened that Mizuki-sensei had a free; so he was chosen. And instead of letting the students study, or read like the others would, he insisted upon asking us questions for certain things. Or more, asking me questions which he knew I wouldn't be able to answer in front of the entire class.

Why was he so hell bent on making my day the most miserable day ever? Sure, I was late for his class by a few minutes, but this was insane!

Stupid, bastard sensei.

I went back over to the sink and turned the faucet, splashing some cold water over my face. It was a few minutes before the first break, and I planned on waiting right here until the bell rang. Then, all I had to do was fetch my bag from the other classroom, and Mizuki-sensei wouldn't be there for that.

It was not an ingenious plan, but it would work.

The water trickled down my cheeks, tracing my jaw and sliding down my neck. It left a very nice, cooling sensation along my skin, and I let out a soft sigh. I was so angry and frustrated, I didn't even hear the door open behind me. Nor did I hear the sound of material moving.

But I did hear the heavy breathing in my ear. And I did feel the slightly taller body pressing against mine.

My snapped open, but before I could get a glimpse of the offending person, something was pulled over my eyes. I let out a shout of surprise, but a hand pressed over my mouth, effectively silencing me.

I felt a knot being tied at the back of my head, and realized that the thing over my eyes was a blindfold. Panic swelled up in my chest and bubbled in my throat, and I began thrashing. But a strong hand grabbed my left arm and pulled me. I grunted against the hand over my mouth as I hit the wall, face first. A body pressed up against me again, pinning me to the spot.

The panting in my ear turned into a soft chuckle that sent shivers up my spine. And they were very, very unpleasant, I might add.

The hand on my arm pulled until my arm was pinned between my back and the stranger's stomach. Then the same happened to my other arm.

I was trapped between the wall and some person who seemed on the verge of hyperventilating.

I tried yelling out again, but the sound was muffled by that ever present limb over my mouth. I tried to bite the hand, but it was too big, I couldn't get my lips over the edge. Then I tried the old fashioned way.

Gross them out with a whole lot of gob.

Shuddering at the fact that I was about to lick some strangers hand, I swallowed my disgust and ran my tongue over the palm of the guy's hand, spitting as much as I could.

The guy stilled behind me and for a moment I thought it had worked. But then the panting grew more frantic, and suddenly the guy pressed against me even harder and...

H.O.L.Y S.H.I.T!

Jabba was out of the hut! I repeat! Jabba was out of the fucking hut!

The pervert had a raging hard on! I renewed my thrashing and yelling, trying desperately to get the sick bastard off of me, but he was too big and strong. He began grinding against my ass, and I couldn't stop the pathetic whimper. Fear and panic were swirling around in my stomach, and the thought 'rape' kept flashing in my mind's eye like a flickering motel sign.

I struggled, trying to avoid the feeling of the guy's hard on pressing into my lower back and ass. And then, by pure accident, my timing went off and instead of grinding away from him, I ground back against him instead. Ripples of disgust rolled throughout my body as the guy let out a breathy moan and stilled.

Oh man, he just jizzed his pants.

Slowly, I was dragged down to my knees as the guy behind me slid down. I kept perfectly still, hoping that maybe he'd think I'd passed out or something from lack of oxygen and move away.

It seemed like there was at least one god out there who thought I deserved a break.

The hand on my mouth moved away at the same time the guy moved back a bit. I took my chance and rammed back against him, knocking him away and to the floor while I scooted away, already working on getting the blindfold off. I cursed as the knot proved to be more difficult than I'd hoped, and the sound of footsteps made my heart thump wildly. I pulled, clawed and teared at the material before it finally fell away.

But when I could see again, the bathroom was empty.

I realized I was panting from the sudden attack I'd used, and settled down, staring wide-eyed around me while trying to calm my over worked heart.

Okay, so some random guy just came into the bathroom and had a one sided grinding session with me. Against my will. As in I was a victim of sexual assault.

Groaning, I let my head fall back until it hit the wall.

I hate my life.

* * *

"Naruto! Where have you been?" Sakura asked, rushing up to me and giving me a hug as I neared the spot where we ate out lunch together. Kiba was sitting there too, looking over at us with an odd expression.

"Hey Naruto, you look a bit pale. Did something happen?" Kiba asked. Sakura took a step back, examining me before humming in agreement to Kiba's statement.

"You do look a bit sick. Are you feeling alright?" she asked gently.

I smiled, internally wondering if I should tell them about the incident earlier. At the motherly gaze on Sakura's face, I shook my head.

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan. Just a bit frustrated with my life." I said, offering a disarming smile.

Oh, I'm such a little liar. Oh well...

We sat down, Kiba immediately spouting off about some nonsense his homeroom teacher was giving them about a home economics project.

"And she started yelling at me for setting the mini stove on fire! I mean, I didn't plan on making flammable cookies, it just happened!" he insisted. Sakura and I laughed openly.

"Kurenai-sensei has some prejudice about fire-hazard cookies." I choked out, and Sakura laughed harder.

"Oh, the inhumanity. We should start a club for hazardous cookie rights!" She exclaimed. Kiba and I grinned and the brunette jumped up, pumping a fist in the air.

"Right! From this day onwards we are the group known as O.R.H.C!" he yelled loudly, gaining a few confused glances from the nearest students.

Sakura raised a pink eyebrow. "Orc?" she questioned.

Kiba shook his head and spelled it out. "It stands for Organazation for the Rights or Hazardous Cookies!" he explained.

Sakura and I chuckled before standing up and raising out fists long with Kiba's own. "Alright!" Sakura said loudly, interlacing our pinkie fingers. "We are O.R.H.C!" she yelled, and Kiba and I gave approving roars. We all shook our hands together, grinning like idiots before sitting down and discussing different ways to argue the rights of hazardous foods.

The incident from earlier soon flew to the back of my mind, getting filed away under 'no longer important'.

* * *

It was after school, and I was sitting in detention.

I was the only student to receive detention today, and I felt that it was not a mere coincidence. I was sure Mizuki-sensei told the other teachers to give the other children liberty, just to make me suffer alone.

Asshole.

I absently drummed my fingers over the desk. Sakura and Kiba had left, and I'd told them not to wait for me. I had nothing much to do today.

I was still wary about going online to play. After the incident in the bathroom, since I remembered it, I was even more wary of meeting a stranger. What if Sakura had been right and Avenger was really an old man or something that just wanted to prey on innocent little blonde boys?

...I wonder if it's Jiraiya?

...Nah, he doesn't go for the boys. He likes blondes, but he also adores boobs, so I guess he's out of the question.

Time passed slowly, and soon I was sprawled over my desk, completely bored and annoyed. When left to my own devices with nothing to do, my mind went into overdrive, sending various different images of various different people who might be Avenger. Most of them were just made up figures in my mind, keeping me entertained by imagining that the guy was a complete nerd.

But somehow, I knew he wasn't. Whenever I thought of Avenger, I pictured someone with dark hair, styled a bit oddly, most likely. And a very cool attitude. One of those 'I-look-like-I-don't-give-a-shit-but-I-actually-do-sometimes' type people.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I wanted to meet him. It would be cool to finally have another friend.

But at the same time, my irrational fear of what he would do once he realized who I was took over. I was already his friend. I didn't want to lose him over something that I didn't even know about.

The sound of the door sliding open snapped me from my thoughts. I turned to see Sasuke standing there, a set of keys in his hand and a very annoyed air about him.

"Uzumaki. You're detentions over. You can leave now." He said. His voice was really low. Baritone.

That's what I'd imagined Avenger to sound like.

Sasuke started glaring at me, and it was then I realized I'd just spaced out again. Shaking my head I stood up and glanced at my desk. A small 'eep' sounded when I realized that I'd started doodling Avenger's name and character all over a piece of paper. I'd even written my own name, Kyuubi, next to it occasionally. Feeling incredibly stupid at how girlish that was, I crumpled the paper up and tossed it in the direction of the trash, not bothering to see if it landed or not, before grabbing my bag and leaving the room.

Sasuke stayed behind, glaring at my back. I snickered, assuming my little trash toss had missed. Figures the Uchiha would be a neat freak.

On the way home, my mind was invaded with different thoughts on how to deal with Avenger's request.

Eventually, after many exhausting internal battles, I settled with a simple choice.

Just avoid him for a little bit longer.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I watched the blonde's retreating back, glaring harshly. When he continued to walk away, I scoffed and walked into the classroom and over to the trash can.

Stupid kid and his stupidly pathetic aim. I knelt down and snatched the little, hardly crumpled piece of paper from the floor.

As I was about to drop it into the waste bin, a small bit of writing caught my eye.

'Avenger and Kyuubi.'

My eyes widened and I quickly unfolded the paper. I was shocked to see the same thing written all over the page, along with several cartoon drawings of characters. I frowned, easily recognizing both characters.

My character, and Kyuubi's.

I stepped back until I was leaning against a desk, staring at the small scrap of paper and letting my mind wonder.

Uzumaki knew of my Shaiya name? And Kyuubi? Did that mean that _he_ _was_ Kyuubi? Or did he know _us_? Was he maybe another member of our party, who just happened to enjoy writing our names together?

I already knew that one member of our party was in my class. Nara Shikamaru was CloudsRnice. I remember talking to him over Shaiya the one time, and upon seeing him constantly using the word 'troublesome' it reminded me of the lazy brunette in my class. I asked him, through the whisper option, if he lived in Konoha.

He was wary at first, but when I asked him if his name was Nara Shikamaru, he immediately demanded who I was.

He didn't believe me when I said I was Uchiha Sasuke. But the next day at school, we met at the front gate and confirmed it by the conversation.

Ever since then, he's been a somewhat close friend. We don't hang out much during school hours, but occasionally we'll go for coffee and a long chat about various things.

He is the one person who knows that I'm gay, and who also knows that I'm very interested in Kyuubi. In fact, he was the one who suggested asking for the nearest post office to send letters.

I bit my lip, trying to figure out what Uzumaki's connection to me was. Was he Kyuubi, or did he just know of us?

A sharp rap on the door caused me to look up, and I relaxed at seeing the slightly slumped figure of Shikamaru leaning against the doorframe. "You look utterly lost, Sasuke." Shikamaru said, yawning.

I snorted. "Not utterly, but I'm getting there."

He raised an eyebrow and trudged over to me, looking at the piece of paper. A smirk formed on his lazy face.

"I know your gay and all, but this is a bit to feminine, don't you think?" he teased. I scowled, pulling the paper away from him.

"I didn't do this."

"Sure."

"I didn't."

"Whatever you say, Sasuke."

"Uzumaki did it."

He grew silent, his expression changing from teasing to calculating. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "He was in here for detention and zoned out while drawing this. I don't even think he realized he did it."

Shikamaru furrowed his brows. "So, you think he's Kyuubi?"

I shook my head and sighed. "I don't know. I thought he might also just be another member of the group. Maybe one of the girls?"

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "Yeah. That BeautySoul chick seems to be the type to enjoy Yaoi. And maybe even the new girl, BlossomBomb." He said.

I nodded absently, letting my own mind wander. "Uzumaki is friends with Haruno, right?"

Shikamaru smirked. "You think Haruno is BlossomBomb? I suppose it makes sense. She is named after a cherry blossom. And from what I've seen and heard, she has one hell of a temper." He shuddered and mumbled something that sounded very similar to 'troublesome'. I smirked, and leant back.

"What do you think I should do?"

He stayed quiet, looking out at the clouds thoughtfully. Finally he sighed. "I think you should try to get to know Uzumaki a bit. Become his friend and then ask him if he's Kyuubi. It'll be better that way, actually. From what I've seen, he's not going to be very open to new people." He said, his voice low.

I nodded, thinking back to all the times I'd seen how people treated him. I'd never understood it, but never said anything. I didn't know the reason, but I assumed there must be a damn good one for the way some of the people acted.

However, those thoughts were pushed aside as I smirked. "So, this is my new mission?" I asked.

Shikamaru chuckled. "Sure. Your mission is to become a part of Uzumaki's group and find out his identity. Sound simple enough?" he asked.

I snorted. "It'll be easy." I said and we left the classroom, the small paper still clutched in my hand.

* * *

**Lol, short: yes. Good: I hope so. Review Worthy: I demand!**

**So, here is a smaller chapter, but it has enough in it to get you excited for what's to come, ne? NEEEEE? Muahahaha!**

**Along with O.R.H.C, let's join the R.R(Review Revolution) And make a difference! JOIN BY REVIEWING! (and going to my profile to find the pledge for reviewing! XD)  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**WOO! Hello all! Here I am with another Online Update! Yay me!**

**Okay, this chapter has alot of Sasuke POV. When it changes back to Naruto POV, I'll tell you, so the first tiny bit is Naruto, then it goes to Sasuke, and then later on it shws when it's Naruto again. Just letting you know.**

**Lol, So some of you were wondering what Sasuke could be planning. Well you find out here.**

**Enjoy the Chapter!**

**Online!  
**

* * *

I was surprised to see that Avenger was not online, but at the same time, I felt a mix of relief and disappointment. Disappointment because he wasn't there, and relief because it mean that he wouldn't be able to push me for a meeting.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair before slapping my cheeks and grinning. "Alright! Time to get levelled up!" I cheered and clicked away.

When I next bothered to look at the clock, I almost fell of my bed at seeing it was one in the morning. I'd started playing at around eight!

Letting out a low whistle at the fact I'd played for _five hours_, I moved my character to safety and logged out.

I stood, groaning as my back, arms and legs clicked as my joints realigned themselves. Tilting my head to the side, I grimaced when a loud crack was heard.

"Man, I'm stiff." I murmured, working my muscles a bit. I'd been sitting curled up for so long, my arms felt heavy and my legs were trying to curl back up even as I stood.

Glancing off to the side I smiled at seeing my completed homework. It was a good thing I'd done it early, or else I'd have been in deep trouble. I was intent on not getting another detention, not even from Mizuki-sensei and the only way I was going to do that was to make sure nothing went wrong.

I set my alarm and climbed into bed, telling myself over and over that tomorrow, or today, would be better than the last.

With thoughts of a good day, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

"Okay, so you know what to do?" Shikamaru asked quietly. I nodded and peered around the corner.

The hallways were filled with students who had just arrived, and both me and Shikamaru were lying in wait for a specific blonde haired boy. Our plan was to simply get me and the kid in a situation where we can start talking. I needed to get in his good books if I wanted to be able to ask him if he was Kyuubi, and to do that, I needed to have some fortunate situations.

Well, fortunate for me anyway.

"Here he comes!" I hissed, spotting the Uzumaki walking in my direction. He was holding several sheets of paper, obviously his homework, and he was staring at them intently, barely paying attention to where he was walking.

I smirked. This would be easier than I thought.

I nodded to Shikamaru, and he returned it before smoothly walking out from the corner.

Our plan was a simple one. Shikamaru would knock Naruto a bit, letting the papers scatter. When the blonde went to pick them up, I would immediately be there to help. I would hand him the papers, he would say thanks, and I would offer a slight smile and say 'You're welcome'. And that would be the start of a beautiful friendship.

I could see the sunset and crashing waves as our hands shook even now.

I stood near the corner, watching carefully for the moment to move. Shikamaru neared the blonde and stepped a bit in his path.

I saw his shoulder collide with the blonde's, but what happened next took me by surprise.

Naruto's expression didn't even change as his shoulder was hit and, with what could only be achieved through many trial and error runs, the blonde leaned into the hit before doing a complete 360 degree turn and continuing on his way down the hall, papers still clutched firmly in his hands and his expression exactly the same.

I internally gaped, but outside my expression was blank. After all, I had a reputation to uphold. But inside I was going nuts.

How could he ease into that situation so easily? His response seemed so natural, as if it was a part of his life.

With a mental cringe I realized that it probably was. With the way people treated him, I didn't doubt that he'd been knocked here and there by plenty of people.

Shikamaru slinked up to me. "Well, that didn't quite go as planned." He murmured, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared in the direction Naruto had gone.

"Hn."

"Guess we'll have to try the next one then."

I smirked. Plan B would definitely work.

"Alright. Let's continue with our mission." I said. Shikamaru snorted, his eyes glinting in amusement.

"Operation: Befriend Uzumaki, phase two begin." He called softly and my smirk widened.

* * *

It was first period now, and Kakashi-sensei was droning on and on about several things that were extremely boring. I wasn't paying attention, choosing instead to focus on the head of blonde hair a few seats away. The boy was scribbling down notes, actually bothering to listen to the teacher.

I smirked. It seemed Naruto was going through any lengths to avoid getting a detention today.

The bell rang, signalling the end of class and everyone started packing their things, chatting and heading away for second period.

I turned my head slightly to glance at Shikamaru out of the corner of my eyes. He caught my gaze and slowly nodded. He stood, as did I, and we both made our way towards the door, where Naruto was seated. He was shoving a few books into his bag, unaware of the people around him.

Shikamaru walked ahead of me, and with a fluid move he moved Uzumaki's chair a bit, so that when the boy stepped back, his foot caught and he tripped, falling backwards.

I smirked, starting to move forward. This plan would work.

The plan? Shikamaru would trip Uzumaki. I would catch said boy and he would thank me. I would reply and the beautiful friendship would begin, crashing waves and all.

However, as my arms began to rise, a blur of pink rushed past me and a cry of "Naruto!" echoed.

I stopped, watching with my arms still slightly raised as Haruno Sakura easily caught the blonde and pulled him upright, straightening his shirt as she did so. He grinned, thanking her. She replied with "You're welcome."

Dammit! She stole my line! She stole my sunset and crashing waves and my beginning of a beautiful friendship!

How _dare _she!

I saw Shikamaru staring at the two, surprise on his face. He had not expected the second plan to fail either, as did I.

Grumbling to myself, I let my arms fall to the side and trudged past the two, joining up with my lazy friend and heading to our next class. What made it worse was that Naruto wasn't in it, so I would have to wait to try the next plan.

Damn. This was harder than I thought it would be.

* * *

"This is harder than I thought it would be." Shikamaru commented quietly.

We were standing in front of the oven for our home-economics, or second period class. Kurenai-sensei was yakking about several new recipes we had to try, or something else. I wasn't paying attention, too busy plotting with my so called genius friend.

"You think?" I hissed. He shrugged and I sighed. "We need to get a way for me to get his friendship."

Shikamaru stared up at the ceiling as he pulled a pair of oven mitts onto his hand. "Perhaps we're coming at this with the wrong approach." He said, bending down and pulling open the oven door.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we've been trying to get him into a situation where you come to his rescue. However, it seems that he's able to take care of himself, and he has other friends to help him. Maybe we should try a different approach." He suggested, lowering his voice when Kurenai-sensei swept past to scold several boys in the back.

I thought about it, and realized he might have a point. "Hn. So what should we do instead?"

Shikamaru waited until Kurenai had passed again before speaking. "We can try getting him to come to us. I know that he has trouble with Biology. I sit behind him and have heard him muttering under his breath plenty of times. I can suggest he get someone to tutor him." He said.

I smirked as the plan came clear in my head. "And of course, when he asks who would be willing, you'll suggest..."

"The one and only Uchiha Sasuke." Shikamaru finished, grinning slyly. I had to admit that the plan seemed like a good one.

I nodded. "Alright. When do you have biology with him?"

"Last period of the day." The grin on his face grew. As did my smirk.

"So, that means I might be able to start 'tutoring' him today." I confirmed. Shikamaru nodded.

"If all goes according to plan."

"Uchiha! Pay attention!" Kurenai-sensei snapped suddenly. I started and looked down; cringing when I saw the cake dough I was mixing had turned into utter slosh.

Oh well. Cooking was for girls anyway.

"Sorry, Kurenai-sensei." I said. She sighed.

"Go throw it out. The bins in the next room." She said, pointing to the door. I nodded, picking up the slightly heavy bowl. The liquid inside sloshed around, causing me to have to balance it carefully in order to stop any from falling to the floor.

I carefully slid the door open and stepped out. Closing the door behind me, I took three steps towards the next room before something, or someone bumped me.

There was a surprised yell and small hiss from me before the contents of the bowl covered the other person's torso, soaking into the white school shirt and leaving a horrid brown and white stain.

"AH! Teme! Look what you did!"

Oh no. Oh _come on_!

I slowly lifted my gaze to meet a pair of furious blue eyes.

Uzumaki.

_Shit_.

I took in his appearance, noting how the baking disaster had splattered all over his uniform shirt. His pants had been spared, thank God, but his shirt was unsalvageable.

The blonde looked down at himself, and let out a pathetic whine, reminding me of a small fox that was separated from its parents. "Dammit! Now what am I going to do? Ebisu-sensei is going to kill me!" he moaned.

I quickly tried to think of a way to salvage the situation. Opening my mouth, I said the first thing that came to me.

"...Hn."

Oh fuck!

Naruto turned to glare at me, and pointed a finger in my face accusingly. "You bastard! This is all your fault! What did I ever do to _you_, huh?" he yelled. I stared back at him, seemingly impassive but inside I was freaking.

Why the hell did I say that? What the hell! It was like, some kind of natural response for me!

Just when Naruto seemed on the verge of tears, a hand grabbed his shoulder and a boy with shaggy brunette hair stepped up. "Whoa, Naruto calm down. What happened?" Inuzuka Kiba asked, concern in his voice as he glanced suspiciously at me.

Naruto turned around, revealing his ruined shirt. Kiba gasped and looked at me, easily seeing the half empty bowl in my hands and the room I came from. He narrowed his eyes.

"Uchiha, what the fuck?" he growled. He stepped a bit forward, simultaneously pushing Naruto a bit behind him protectively. I resisted the urge to growl at him.

"He bumped into me." I said calmly. Naruto made an indignant noise.

"You should watch where you're going!" he squeaked, fiddling with the wet material of his shirt.

Kiba glanced between us before sighing. "Whatever Uchiha. I don't have time to deal with you." He turned and took a hold of Naruto's arm. "Here, I've got a spare school shirt in my bag. I'll lend it to you." He said and began leading the boy away. Naruto brightened and walked closer to Kiba.

"You're the best Kiba!" he said happily. Kiba grinned.

"Of course."

The two of them chatted happily as they went, leaving me behind to gape at their backs.

I closed my mouth and stomped into the next room, tipping the rest of the sludge into the bin before storming back into my classroom. Kurenai gave me disapproving looks as I roughly shoved the bowl on the counter, but I didn't care. I was pissed.

Now Naruto was angry at me, which meant my chances of getting close enough to confront him were getting slim.

True, I could confront him anyway, but if he really was Kyuubi, then it was obvious he was avoiding Avenger because he was too nervous to meet him, or me.

Therefore, it was crucial that I be his friend before asking him. That way, if he was Kyuubi, he would see that I was still his friend. And if he only knew Kyuubi, then I would be able to get the information easier.

Shikamaru sent me questioning glances, but I just shook my head. "Later."

He nodded and continued working on his cake. I tried not to look at it, especially since the bastard had shaped it to look like a swirl.

It reminded me of Naruto, which just reminded me of my major screwup earlier.

I grit my teeth.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by reasonably quickly. During break time, Shikamaru and I snuck close the place where Naruto sat with his friends.

We made pretty good ninja's, if I do say so myself.

Naruto was sitting on a bench, wearing a now clean school shirt. He was chatting animatedly, his hands gesturing and his face contorting into many different expressions as he retold a story. Occasionally, I would see Haruno and Inuzuka laugh and add in to the conversation.

Shikamaru and I were crouching down by a small wall, dividing the sports field and the lunch area. The three targets, as we called them, were right next to us, so we could sit out of sight and still listen in to their conversation.

Shikamaru stared intently at the clouds, but by the occasional twitch if his eyes or ears, I knew he was listening carefully.

I folded my arms and leant back, resting against the wall and listening.

"...And then I kicked his ass!" Naruto was saying, his voice proud. I heard Haruno laugh slightly.

"Not really. I was there, remember. You didn't kick his ass. You shoved him and his ass fell off the cliff." She corrected.

I exchanged a glance with Shikamaru. Was this a real event?

Naruto's whine was easy to identify. "Sakura-chan! I did kick his ass!"

"Right, right. Well, all that matters was you won and gained a lot of XP points." Inuzuka said, chuckling.

I suppressed a relieved sigh. At least I knew Naruto hadn't really shoved someone off a cliff. I was a little worried for a moment.

Suddenly, I heard Inuzuka jump up. "Okay, enough with that! It's time to start the first meeting for O.R.H.C!" he said loudly.

I turned to stare at Shikamaru, who mirrored my expression that clearly said 'What the fuck?'

Naruto laughed and Haruno giggled before the three began discussing different rights for-and I shit you not- _hazardous cookies_.

For a moment, I thought that perhaps, it would be better for me to forget my plan of getting close to Naruto. He was obviously insane.

However, when I sneaked a peek over the wall, I saw him laughing, his face bright with joy as his friends laughed with him. In that moment, I felt warmth spread throughout my chest, and I barely stopped the smile that threatened to break free.

It was strange.

I'd known him before now. Not well, only as a passing face, but...I'd never before noticed he was so...well, beautiful. His skin was tanned, and from gym class, I knew it was natural. His hair shone brightly in the sunlight and his smile was so wide and contagious, it was threatening my own face.

And I found myself wishing to whichever higher power would listen, that Uzumaki Naruto would indeed be my friend Kyuubi.

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I sighed as I took my seat. It was the last lesson of the day, but for me it was the worst.

Biology with Asuma-sensei.

I sucked at Biology, even more so than I sucked at maths. I groaned and lay my head on the table, wishing that perhaps Asuma-sensei would be merciful and let us have a free period.

Of course, since the world hated me, they saw fit to throw my wish back in my face with an extra bonus of misery.

"Alright everyone. I've got a surprise for you." Asuma said as he walked into the room. Everyone looked up and he smiled wickedly. "It's pop quiz time!" He sang.

There were multitudes of groans and whines, and I slammed my head on my desk noticeably. Asuma smirked at the class's complaints and simply began handing out papers.

Mine was shoved at me, but I was so used to that type of thing, I caught it without even looking and placed it in front of me with a sigh.

When it was time for us to start, I stared blankly at the paper.

Fuck, when did we learn about this? Was it at the beginning of the year? Or maybe last week? I couldn't remember it at all!

Sighing with resignation, I simply skimmed through the questions, answering the few that I did know and taking wild guesses at the multiple choice ones. For the ones I didn't have a clue on, I simply left them blank.

"Man. I'm so going to fail this class." I muttered, leaning back in my chair a bit.

Something poked my head and I glanced over my shoulder to see Nara Shikamaru sitting there. He had used the back of his pencil to poke me. "What?" I asked.

"Why don't you get a tutor?" he asked lazily. I raised an eyebrow. To answer his question, I poked the person in front of me.

It was some girl name Kin. She turned in her seat and glared at me. "What?" she hissed angrily.

I leant forward. "Would you please tutor me? I really need help with Biology!" I whispered, adding the sincere gaze. She glared harder and scoffed.

"Why would I waste my time with a nobody loser like _you_. Go to hell." She spat and turned away.

I leant back and sent a pointed look to Shikamaru. "Oh sure, get a tutor you say. In case you haven't noticed, that's how _everyone _treats me." I said.

Shikamaru was staring at Kin, an almost angry expression on his face before he turned to me.

"I know someone who would help." He said. I raised my other eyebrow.

"Are you offering to help me?"

"Not me. I'm not too good with Biology myself. But a friend of mine is, and he'll help you."

"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?" I asked suspiciously.

For a moment, his expression looked rather remorseful, as if he was upset to realize that people had done that sort of thing before, but it was quickly replaced with boredom again. "I have nothing to gain by tricking you." He said.

"You have nothing to gain by helping me either." I retorted. For a moment, he stared at me and I stared back.

Then he smirked. "Actually I do."

I sent him a questioning gaze.

"If you get tutored, you won't struggle in Biology anymore. Which in turn means you will stop grumbling about how you'll fail, which in turn means I can work in peace without listening to your mumbling." He explained.

I scowled at him, but thought the offer over in my head. Shikamaru didn't see the type to pull tricks on people. Hell, he looked too lazy to even attempt to lie. And I did need help in Biology.

"Will your friend help me, even though it's me?" I asked carefully.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes. He doesn't follow the crowd, so unless you've done something personal to him, he doesn't care."

I sighed and nodded. "Okay. Where can I find him?"

I saw something that looked like triumph flash in Shikamaru's face before it was gone. "I'll tell him to meet you at the school gates. Just wait there."

I nodded again and thanked him.

"Uzumaki, kindly stop gazing into Nara's eyes and start gazing at your worksheet please." Asuma-sensei said loudly.

I blushed and scowled, turning back to my paper and ignoring the snickers and scathing looks sent my way.

Behind me, I heard Shikamaru mutter "Troublesome teacher."

* * *

I stood at the school gates, rocking on my heels slightly. I was waiting for the friend Shikamaru told me about, but as time passed and more and more students left, I was beginning to feel nervous.

Maybe it was all a set up? Maybe no one was coming and I was meant to wait here for ages? Maybe they were waiting for the school to empty and then they'd all attack me and beat me up?

So many worst-case scenarios ran through my mind that soon I was shivering slightly from the images of myself as nothing but a bloodied lump in a gutter somewhere.

"Hn. Are you cold?"

I swear I did not scream like a girl. It was a very manly scream!

But either way, I vocalised my fright and spun around, clutching my bag strap tightly like a life line. What met my gaze was a pair of amused black eyes and a smirk that could only belong to one Uchiha Sasuke.

He stood with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, and leaning slightly on his right leg. His bag was slung over his shoulder, the small keychain of a red and white fan clinking against the zipper every time he shifted.

I changed my gaze to a glare. "What do you want, teme?" I snapped. He eyed me up and down, and for some reason that made me shiver even more.

"Shikamaru said you needed a biology tutor." He said.

I blinked. Oh no way. No way!

"_You're _the tutor?" I asked, stepping back and glaring at him through suspicious eyes. He seemed even more amused, as that annoying smirk just widened.

Ass.

"Hn. Apparently yes. Now let's go. We can start now." He said and began walking down the street. I gaped after him. "Hurry up dobe!" he called, not even turning around.

Growling, I chased after him. "Teme!"

I was so busy yelling and running after Sasuke, I didn't even feel the pair of hungry eyes that were watching me as I ran.

* * *

**Lololololol! I am Tobi and I is a good boy! *is shot* **

**Anyway, what's to come?: Sasuke attempts to talk and get close to Naruto. Naruto struggles with his fears and suspicions of the raven's true motives. And Kiba stumbles upon something interesting! Find out what happens in the next chapter!**

**Review Revolution. It's for the Awesome, so be Awesome and Review to join the Awesomeness that is the Revolution! Peace out yo!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Kyaaah! Sorry I took so long! But school has started, you know and things are getting hectic, so of course, updates might be a bit slower than usual.**

**Anyhoo, here we have the lovely next chapter of Online. **

**Warnings: Swearing, bastard brothers, POV switches and possible misleading clues. *evil grin***

**Disclaimer: *performs hand seals* _Ownership no jutsu_! ... *sighs* Damn, it didn't work. Oh well, I tried.  
**

* * *

I was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

And it's not because of the seats I was in. No, they were actually quite comfortable. Nice, soft material and plenty of stuffing. And the back was nice...

Wow, I really do suffer from short attention span. Back to the main issue!

I was uncomfortable, not because of my seat, but because of the person sitting across from me.

Uchiha Sasuke seemed to have being an ass down to an art. How was it that someone could look _so_ smug and full of himself with just a glance?

Every time he turned around, he seemed to excrete this aura that screamed 'I'm-better-than-you-so-suck-it-up-and-kiss-my-ass'.

...Okay, so maybe I _was _exaggerating, but that's what it felt like to me.

Right now, we were sitting in a little coffee shop a few streets down from school. It was a popular place for the students, and there were a fair few sitting around now, chatting and gossiping and texting on their phones to their friends.

Usually I tried to avoid places with lots of students. I'm sure you can guess why, I believe I've given plenty of examples as to what people are like around me.

Therefore, I was restless. I kept glancing around, afraid that one of the students will spot me and start a riot. I wouldn't be surprised if the manager chased me out with a rolling pin and a pot of hot coffee.

While I was so busy with my mental musings of killer coffee, I failed to hear what Sasuke was saying. When he finally figured that I wasn't even in the same solar system as he was, he snapped his fingers in front of my face a couple of times, trying to get my attention.

"Oi, dobe." He called, waving his hand a bit. I shook my head a bit to break from my daze and turned to stare blankly at him.

"Huh?"

He sighed, seeming irritated. "You weren't even paying attention. No wonder you're failing biology." He said.

I bristled. "Shut up teme! Not all of us are born smart!" I hissed. He raised an eyebrow, and that smirk that I was growing to hate re-emerged.

"You admit I'm smart?"

Oh come on! I hate it when people use my own words against me! That should be a criminal offence, dammit!

"N-no! You're a stupid teme!" I grumbled, crossing my arms and looking away.

And I was _not_ pouting, for those idiots who seem to think that I was.

Sasuke just smirked and stared at me. Honestly, what was with the constant staring? And there was always something in his eyes that made me feel weird, like he was trying to X-ray me with his eyeballs.

I wouldn't put it past him. Uchiha's are not human. I swear it!

"Dobe. Now pay attention. I don't have to be here helping you." He warned and spread out the textbooks.

"Then why are you?" I asked suddenly. He paused, turning to stare at me blankly.

I waited.

"Because I have nothing better to do."

I huffed, glaring. "So I'm just a way to pass the time? God, you're such a bastard!"

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

Oh fucking hell! Great move, Uchiha, now you've just made him hate you even more than he already does!

What the fuck is wrong with me! Dammit!

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I watched as the bastard simply continued flipping through the textbooks, not even answering to my insult. I sighed wearily and leant forward.

I might as well learn something from him. He was willing to tutor me and I did need help, so I was going to take it.

We spent a fair amount of time going over the various things that I was having trouble with, and surprisingly he was a good tutor. He managed to explain several things that I had not understood, and I was able to understand what he was saying. I had to admit it was impressive.

Not that I'd admit it out loud though.

Sasuke had continually waved away the waitress, and being a closet fan girl, she obeyed without question, not even getting annoyed that we weren't buying anything.

However, about an hour after we had started studying, I got really thirsty, so when the waitress came back, I told Sasuke to let her be.

"Hi, are you ready to order?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at Sasuke. I resisted the urge to sigh and roll my eyes. I actually wanted my drink in my stomach, and not all over my head, thank you very much.

"Uh, can I have a can of coke, please?" I asked. She nodded, writing down the order without even sparing a glance at me. She was too busy drooling over Uchiha.

Sasuke sighed. "Hn. Just water for me."

She nodded and skipped away, sparkles trailing from her as waves crashed in the background.

...Once again, I marvelled at my imagination. It has a life of its own, I swear.

"Why do girls kill to get close to you?" I asked absently, poking at the table. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"They do that?"

I gaped. Oh he must have been shitting me! No way! "You didn't notice the fact that you have an entire fan-club full of psychotic females in school who stalk your every move and most likely know where you live?" I asked incredulously.

He visibly shuddered. "I try not to think about it." He replied and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I guess even Uchiha's are afraid of something. That something being rabid fan girls." I smirked when he scowled.

"Shut up."

My smirk widened. "Aw, but why? You should be happy, Sasuke-kun." I said, putting on a high voice and imitating his fans. His scowl deepened, obviously not pleased with the reminder of his insane entourage.

"How old are you?" he asked snidely and I shrugged.

"Old enough to know better, too young to actually give a fuck." I grinned.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

I couldn't help but notice how we seemed...almost friendly. Sure he was an ass and had made plenty of jabs at my intelligence throughout the tutoring session, and I had repeatedly reminded him of his asinine status... but even then, there had been no real spite or animosity behind it.

When he called me a dobe, it was almost teasing, and when I called him teme, I could easily hear the laugh in my tone. It was confusing, considering the fact that before now I had only ever seen him as a prick.

But maybe we could be good friends? He wasn't all that bad. He was a smart guy, and he had his humour...as cold, dry and wicked as it was, it was still a form of humour.

So why not? He didn't seem to judge me too much either. I looked over at him, studying his face as he read over a few notes. The way his lip would turn ever so slightly into a frown when something wasn't crystal clear, the way that single wrinkle would appear in between his eyes when he scowled and grimaced.

I had to admit, much to my inner wailing, that Uchiha Sasuke was good looking. He still reminded me of a featherless, uncooked chicken, but that was only when he was being an ass and picking on me.

When he was being, in his own weird way, _nice_...he was pretty handsome.

Oh, are you confused? Well, to answer the thoughts in your minds, I'm not gay.

Not totally.

I'm bi. The reason is simple.

When you are as widely despised as I am, you will take love from anyone, no matter what gender they may be.

If someone is in love with me, and I them, I'm not going to let something as stupid as their anatomy get in the way. At least, that's my perspective.

Each to his own, right? You have your sexual preferences, and I have mine. There we go, we're all good now.

The waitress returned, placing Sasuke's water in front of him with a flourish.

She dropped my coke in front of me and I suppressed a sigh. Great, now it was going to explode when I opened it.

I hate my...Oh, you know the rest.

Sasuke glared at the girl, and she squeaked and scurried away. I snickered. "I think she almost wet herself, teme."

He scoffed and looked at me. "Don't open that for a bit." He ordered. I mimicked him cheekily, but did as he said anyway. I didn't want to be covered in sticky coke, thank you.

He sipped his water and pointed to a paragraph in the book. "Do you understand this?"

I leant forward, reading the words. As I was about to answer him, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and a chill ran down my spine. I turned my head, glancing behind me, but there was nothing.

Odd. I could've sworn I felt someone watching me.

Raising my eyebrow at the innocent area behind me, I slowly turned back to the book. Great, I'd forgotten what it said. Stupid short term memory.

Once again, I opened my mouth to speak, but that feeling returned and I froze. I could tell there was someone staring at me from behind. I just knew it.

I'd always had a decent sixth sense, as long as I'm not totally distracted. And this feeling was strong.

Sasuke was watching me, obviously confused as to why I looked like I was brain dead. Oh, I could already feel the insult coming once this was over.

Instead of turning around this time, I studied the reflective doors behind Sasuke to see if I could spot the culprit.

My eyes widened when I saw a shadowed figure sitting in one of the booths across the room. Although the image was blurred, I knew that the person sitting there was staring at me.

Sasuke was surprised when I growled, and even more shocked when I turned around and shouted "Oi buddy! What are you staring at me for, huh?"

The person jumped and stood. I was already out of my seat, heading over. It's not like I was going to fight or anything, but I don't appreciate people staring at me so creepily. However, as I drew closer, the mystery guy bolted away, heading for the bathroom.

Without much thought, I followed. "Oi, wait!"

He slammed through the door and it shut as I got to it. I pulled it open and rushed inside, thinking I'd have cornered him, but the bathroom was empty.

I stared around, trying to find a trace of the guy, but there was nothing. Turning my attention to the stalls, I did the classic move and knelt down, trying to see if there was anyone inside. The first stall proved empty. As did the second. I cursed and crouched down, ready to check the third stall when...

"What the hell are you doing, dobe?"

I started a twisted my head to look over my shoulder. Sasuke was standing there, his hands in his pockets and his eyebrow lost in his hairline as he stared at me. I gulped and felt my face heat up.

Oh great, more material for him to tease me with.

He seemed to grow impatient. "Well? What the hell are you doing?" he repeated.

I laughed weakly, climbing to my feet and brushing my pants of any dirt. "Oh, so that wasn't a rhetorical question?"

He glared at me and I shrugged. "What? I thought it was funny." I said.

"When you're through being a complete retard, I'll be at the table." He said and turned around. I scowled.

"Love you too asshole!" I called after him. I turned away, missing the slight falter in his steps before the door slammed closed.

Now alone in the bathroom, I looked around. Where had that guy gone? I couldn't hear anything. Had he maybe climbed out the window?

I looked up at the small opening and thought about it. It wasn't too small. Someone skinny could slide through that. But it would take some effort, and time, so I would've caught him.

So then where?

I walked over to the third stall and knocked. "Uh, is someone in there?" I asked.

"Yes."

I jumped, not actually having suspected someone inside. "Oh! Sorry!"

The person laughed, and I thought it sounded familiar. There was a click as the lock on the door turned and it swung open.

I blinked, slowly taking in the person's features before my memory decided it's vacation was over. "Ah! Kabuto-san!"

Kabuto smiled and nodded. "Hello, Naruto-kun." He said, walking over to the sinks and beginning to wash his hands.

I stared at him. He was wearing a purple shirt with the sleeves rolled up and light grey slacks. His hair was, as always, tied up and grey and his glasses glinted in the light of the bathroom.

He was most definitely not the shady guy who had been watching me.

While Kabuto was washing his hands, I stared at the stall he had come from. It was empty of anything but what was meant to be there, as in a toilet and some toilet paper.

So then...where had the guy gone? Had I been hallucinating when he ran here? Maybe that's why Sasuke looked at me so weirdly?

Maybe there hadn't been anyone there at all? Maybe I was insane!

As I started to contemplate ways to test my sanity, Kabuto came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Naruto-kun, are you okay? You seem to be a bit dazed." He said, concerned.

I broke out of my contemplations to smile at him. He was so nice to me, it was refreshing.

"I'm okay. Just a bit confused about something." I said, grinning. He smiled at me, his glasses sparkling in the light...or were his eyes shining?

Whatever.

We headed for the door and tried to leave at once. The result was us stuck in the doorway. I smiled sheepishly at him. "Maybe I need to cut down on ramen." I joked. There's _no way_ I'd _ever_ do that.

Kabuto chuckled. He pressed forward, and somehow managed to get us out of the predicament.

"Well, I have to go. It was nice seeing you again, Naruto-kun." He said and waved. I waved back, a smile on my face.

He turned and walked away.

As soon as his back was out of sight, my smile dropped and I frowned.

His chuckled...I had heard it before.

I'd heard it that day I got molested in the school bathroom.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I walked home steadily, my pace reasonable. My mind was whirring with different thoughts, most of them revolving around a certain blonde idiot.

When Naruto had come back from the bathroom, he had been acting weird...distracted. He kept glancing at the door, then at his hands and he hardly heard anything I said.

Hell, he probably didn't even hear me say goodbye.

I walked a bit slower, not wanting to end up walking into a pole due to my thinking.

What had happened in the bathroom when I left? What was he doing in the bathroom? I'd seen him chase after someone, but I can't be sure if they actually went into the bathroom. There was a misted glass screen hiding the bathroom doors from view, so I had only guessed.

When I had walked in to find Naruto on the ground, my heart had decided to take up heavy metal drumming and practiced on my rib cage.

Naruto had been kneeling down, his chest against the floor and his ass sticking up in the air, in full view.

He had been mumbling something to himself, but I was too busy trying to reign in my fly away thoughts to pay any attention.

Somehow, my bastard-half took control of the situation and got me out of there in one piece. But then he had to have the last word.

"_Love you too asshole!"_

I groaned. Damn blonde dobe. Why did he have to say that? I know he was just kidding, but it stirred something in my mind that I'd rather not have to contemplate right now.

I mean, love? Sure, he was a good looking guy, and I wanted to be his friend, but love? No way.

I may be gay, but that doesn't mean I'll fall for the first gorgeous blonde to come my way.

My aim, my goal, was to become Naruto's friend. Just a friend. And then I would find out if he was Kyuubi. If he was then maybe things would be different, because to be honest, I felt something for Kyuubi.

I hadn't met him-officially just in case Naruto really was him- but even so I still wanted him. From the times we had spoken, I'd grown fond of him. He often said things that were stupid, but he had moments where he could be really insightful and wise. He could understand me, and I him.

I really wanted to meet Kyuubi. And getting close to Uzumaki Naruto was the way it was going to happen. At the end of the day, Naruto knew Kyuubi, and I had to get that information.

My rebellious mind-honestly, I should _fire_ it and get a new one- sent my thoughts drifting to my day earlier.

Naruto had proved to be quite a fast learner. However, this only applied to him when he was given the dumber-and I mean dumber- versions of the explanations. It was no surprise the teachers had a problem. They always explained things so technically and in detail, it would confuse anyone who wasn't an Uchiha.

But with Naruto, one needed to explain it in the simplest, most basic way possible for him to get a clue.

Once he did, he proved he could do the work quite well, and I was impressed with how fast he caught up.

The session had gone well. I hadn't been able to ask too many personal things, since we had just started, but I at least knew something.

His favourite food was ramen.

...Hey, I said it was _something_! I never said it was something _significant_!

Feeling rather miserable at the lack of progress, I trudged up the walk way to my house, not noticing the tall, dark and-to some idiotic people- handsome person sitting in the chair on the porch, watching my approach.

In fact, I was so deep in thought, I managed to forget that there were three steps up to the porch, not two, and it was the sudden feel of wood slamming against my nose that snapped me from my daze.

Even with my face pressed to the floor, I was able to glare at the wood. How dare it mock me by being so hard and resilient?

"My, my little brother. You're awfully clumsy today. I didn't think you'd forget such an obvious detail such as the number of steps to take." A low voice said off to my right.

Great. Fucking _Itachi _was here.

...He was my older brother, the one that I despise since he enjoys making my life miserable.

I scoffed and pulled myself up, switching my glare from the wood to him. "You're wrong. I was just so _happy _to be home I decided to give the porch a hello kiss." I drawled.

Itachi smirked, his hands laced in front of him where he sat in the comfortable chair. There was a mug of coffee next to him, as well as a book. So he had been reading.

Of course the bastard wouldn't think to warn me about the extra step. Oh no, that would take away all joy in his life.

Itachi leant back and picked up the book, flipping it open. He spared me a glance and his smirk returned. "You'd better wash up, little brother, lest mother and father think you've been having _dirty _thoughts." He said.

I stared at him. What the _hell _was he talking about? I looked at the window and saw my reflection.

Oh. My nose was bleeding.

Ha ha! _Funny_!

Ass-wipe.

"You're a real riot. You should get up on stage." I scoffed. Itachi chuckled.

"Kisame said the same thing today. Right after he sliced his finger open with a can opener."

I blinked. How the fuck does someone manage that?

Itachi, being the prick-slash-mind reader he is, looked at me. "I have no idea how he did it. And neither does he. But it happened."

I rolled my eyes. "You're friends are weird."

"And you don't have any."

Low blow jackass.

I scowled at him while he smirked triumphantly, and stormed into the house. Fucking Itachi and his fucking quick comebacks.

"Sasuke! You're home!" My mother, Mikoto said as she came out of the kitchen. She stopped and studied me. "Sasuke, have you been having dirty thoughts?" she asked.

I sighed and wiped at the blood under my nose. Outside, I heard Itachi laughing.

Why me?

* * *

**~Kiba POV~**

I dived onto my bed and sighed as the comfortable blanket seemed to curl around me. Ah, nothing like a nice, relaxing nap after a hard day at school.

Yes, the peace and quiet would soon send me into a deep, wonderful slumber that nothing would be able to disturb-

"KIBA! Get your ass here now and do the dishes!"

Fuck me.

Stupid sister.

Grumbling, I dragged myself from the bed and stuck my head out the door. "It's not my turn today!" I yelled.

"I don't care! I have a date, so I can't do them!"

Oh hell no! "Screw that! It's your turn, you do the dishes! I'm not taking extra work just so you can go snog some random dick that won't even come back for a second date!"

Thank God for my incredible instincts and reflexes. I managed to get in the bathroom and lock the door before my older sister could tear my balls off and use them as dog-training treats.

Shuddering at the thought, I reached down and cupped my groin.

Good. They were still there.

Grinning as my sister screamed pure murder; I turned around and started the shower. I would be in here a while, so I might as well get clean.

The hot water felt good on my muscles, and I sighed. Ah, the peaceful feeling of a nice, hot shower was enough to take away all stress and other meaningless worries-

"KIBA!" the door was literally ripped off its hinges as Hana, my psychotic sister, burst in. She stopped and for a whole thirty seconds we just stared at each other, me in the shower in my birthday suit, and her in a tight dress that revealed way too much chest for my taste.

Then, as if we had rehearsed it, we both screamed and started talking in perfect sync.

"You're naked!"

"You're half naked!"

"I'm wearing a _dress_!"

"I'm in the _shower_!"

"Cover up dammit!"

"You too!"

"No!"

"Then I won't either."

"I'm not naked!"

"But you're planning on it!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"No!"

"Then why must I shut up?"

"Because I'm older and I said so!"

"But I've got bigger balls than you."

"I haven't _got _any balls!"

"Are you sure? I'm certain one needs a fair amount of balls to rip a door off its hinges."

"I'm a _girl_!"

"Could've fooled _me_."

At this point, Hana was about ready to strangle me. I was standing, both hands covering my goods so as not to scare her too easily with my awesome manliness. She was wearing a very short, tight black dress with boots and netted, fingerless gloves. But her breasts were ready to spill out, she wouldn't be able to bend over lest she moon the world, and that amount of make-up was so unnecessary. And I could see no bra-straps nor indentations indicating the use of one.

I glared at her outfit. There was no way I was letting my sister, be it older or younger, go out dressed like _that_!

"Put on a different outfit." I ordered, even through the spray of water.

"Why should I?" She snapped.

"Because you're not a slut, so you won't dress like one." I replied angrily, turning until my whole body to face her.

She paused, looking a bit shameful and a bit angry. Finally she sighed. "Fine. I'll wear something less revealing." She said.

I grinned. "Good." She stood there, staring at me and I stared back.

Finally, when the water grew cold I smirked. "Hey, sis?"

"Yeah?"

Quick as a bullet, I pulled my hands away, lifting them above my head. "Look, no hands!"

Hana's eyes bulged and she screamed, tilting back and slapping a hand over her eyes. "Oh God don't show me that! You're such a freak!" she yelled, running out of the bathroom.

I laughed, reaching and grabbing a towel. Please, as if it was anything she hadn't seen before. I know for a fact that she used to change my diapers while my mom was at work.

Drama queen.

Chuckling, I walked back to my room and pulled on some comfortable pants and a sweatshirt.

Sitting in front of my computer, I switched it on, drumming a random tune while I waited for it to boot up.

My thoughts drifted back to Naruto, remembering how he'd been a bit off the day before yesterday.

He may have said nothing was wrong, but I could see through that lie like it was a polar bear in a coal mine.

Frowning, I thought of all the things that may have gotten him down. Perhaps someone was teasing him again? Or maybe Uchiha had done something.

I scowled, remembering what the raven had done earlier. Although I knew it was most likely an accident, the stupid ass could've been a bit kinder. After all, he didn't get any damage done, so he didn't have any reason to be angry.

That had been one of the only times I was thankful for an overbearing mother. She always told me to bring a spare outfit in case of an accident of some sort. This time, it had been useful for my friend.

Suddenly, my computer shut down. I blinked. "Uh..."

Looking over the back, I swore. The damn cable was falty. I would have to get a new one tomorrow.

Growling, I thought of how I was supposed to do my literature project. There was no way in hell I was actually going to bother writing it by hand.

Only crazy people, or Uchiha's did that shit.

Suddenly, the memory of Naruto's laptop played in my mind and I grinned. He wouldn't mind if I used his computer. After all, I helped him, so he helps me. All fair and good.

Whistling, I walked out of the apartment and stopped next door, pounding my fist against the barrier and waiting.

There was no answer.

Frowning, I tried again, but the same result. He must not be home.

Sighing, I thought of my options. Wait for Naruto to get home...but that could be ages. Write the project by hand...yeah right. I'm not crazy and I'm not an Uchiha.

So all that was left was...

Grinning, I quickly went back in my own house and 'borrowed' one of my sister's hair pins.

Back in front of Naruto's door, I knelt down and slowly started to pick the lock, occasionally glancing around to make sure no one was going to call the cops on me.

When I heard the 'click' of the lock turning, I laughed in my triumph. Oh yeah, I would so be a good burglar.

However, after tripping and crashing to the floor the moment I stepped inside, I decided that maybe the criminal life wasn't my best option after all.

Rubbing my sore nose, I sauntered over to Naruto's laptop and turned it on, smiling when it stayed on with no complaints.

The actual project wasn't all that hard, or even long. I was just too lazy to write by hand, and my handwriting was so messy the teacher would fail me for writing in a foreign language. Stupid teachers. They would regret dissing the great language of 'Kiba-nese' when I was ruler of the not-so-free world.

I managed to finish my awesome project- it consisted of 'the book was cool, the plot was weird and the main character sounded like a hot chick, the end'- and I sent it through to my computer. Once I got the cable, I'd be able to print it.

I was fully ready to leave when an icon on Naruto's desktop caught my eye.

Turning, I gaped at it. "No way! He plays Shaiya too!"

Yes, as geeky as people may say it is, I played an mmorpg game online. Hey, it was fun! Don't you judge me, you fool!

Feeling curious, I double clicked, letting the world of Shaiya open up to me.

I was just planning on adding my name, WolfPack01, to his friend list. That would be cool.

When the login bar came up, asking for his password, I paused. Cupping my chin with my hand, I thought. What would Naruto put as his password?

When the first idea came to me, I laughed.

Spreading my fingers, I typed 'miso-ramen' into the bar and pressed enter.

It accepted.

I stared.

"You've got to be kidding." I whispered, and burst out laughing. "He actually used _that_ as his password! Oh man, that's rich!" I howled.

The screen loaded up, and his character appeared. I blinked and my laughing stopped.

"Wait...that's..." I gaped at the name.

_Kyuubi_.

* * *

**Ah...I love Kiba. He's so fun to write. **

**So, how did you like the chapter? This one is actually longer than any of the others, I think, so yay. **

**I haven't got all that much to say, so I'll end fo here.**

**Reviews are like energy drinks. When an author gets some, they go into super-hyper-pumped and start writing like crazy. So give us a drink and review, yeah?  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh phew this took me a while...and it's not even that long! **

***sighs* I've had a busy week, and I've also been going through a bit of a...well, a block. I just. Couldn't. Write.**

**It was like, everytime I look at the page, I let my fingers hover over the keys, but nothing comes to me! Even when I asked for help from my, uh, 'muses' you could call them, nothing helped. I managed to cough out that new story, 'Old Sayings' (oh, the oxymoron there was enough to choke me) but I just couldn't focus on this.**

**But I've finally done it...and hopefully it doesn't suck ass. **

**Well, I hope you all enjoy it, and THANK YOU to everyone who's reviewed and enjoyed this story! I lovels you all (lol, yes I meant to say lovels, it's one of my 'words')**

**...Muahahah, I bet some of you were expecting me to rant on and on about that whole Redbooton thing? Well, sorry but I don't care what those people do. I've got a back-up account at , so even if I'm deleted from here(though I doubt that would happen) I'm still publishing under Juura99. So *sticks out tongue and crosses eyes* that's what I think of the redbooton thing! Ha HA!**

**ENJOY! Online!  
**

* * *

The whole way back home, I kept glancing around nervously.

That feeling was back. I was being watched again.

The streets were, as my horrid luck would have it, empty. It was getting late, so most people were inside at home, watching T.V and eating ready-made meals while laughing and chatting with their families.

And I was rushing down the streets, trying not to stagger especially when the feeling grew worse.

I sighed with relief when my apartment building came into view. "Thank goodness!"

I stopped to catch my breath, leaning against the nearest building. I kept my eyes on the lights of the apartment building, taking comfort in the fact that it was so close.

My heart dropped when I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

I gasped and glanced over my shoulder.

It was the guy from the cafe!

Barely managing not to scream, I started running, my bag thumping against my back harshly and my feet thudding loudly on the concrete. Above my own heavy breathing, I could hear the sound of footsteps chasing mine, and panic rose in my throat.

Oh fuck!

I ran across the road, stumbling a bit on the opposite pavement before grabbing a lamppost and pulling myself upright. Without bothering to look back, I continued on my escape to my home.

I mean, some random guy was chasing me! Why me?

And cue my most commonly used complaint.

Yeah, you know what it is.

My heart was racing, and I followed its lead and raced up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time.

When I reached the top, I sprinted all the way to my door, and only then did I stop and turn back.

With one hand on my door handle, I panted for breath while watching the top of the staircase to see if someone was following.

After a minute of no intrusion, I sighed and fumbled for my keys.

Slipping them in, I absently turned them, still focused on the staircase. My nerves were on edge, and I felt so relieve when the door opened.

Stepping inside, I slammed it shut and locked it again. Once the resounding click of the lock sounded, I leant against the door and let out a long, drawn out sigh.

My luck, just like my life, sucked.

Honestly, of all the people in this huge town of Konoha, I had to be the one some creepy, dark guy chose to chase and stalk.

It was unfair.

I glared at the roof, hoping my gaze would penetrate the heavens and fry the asses of the gods themselves.

Serves them right for toying with me.

After regaining my composure, I straightened up and trudged through to my room/living room.

The light was off, as expected, and I really couldn't be bothered to turn it on just yet.

I shrugged my bag off, letting it fall to the floor before stretching.

The light clicked on and a soft, evil voice said "Welcome home, Naruto-kun."

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

Dinner was an odd thing in my house.

It was the only meal where everyone would sit together and eat.

However, being Uchiha's, we never had much to talk about.

Sometimes, Itachi and my father would discuss work, but since they did different jobs, there was little they could share.

My father was the CEO of one of the largest businesses in Konoha. Uchiha Corps.

They were involved in a wide range of merchandise, and owned several smaller businesses too. However, Itachi was working as a teacher at Konoha College, along with some of his friends.

My mother spent most of her time organizing charity drives and flower committees.

I went to school and played online rpg games where I knew tons of people but never met more than one...

...All of you shut up, right now.

Tonights dinner was even worse than any previous, as no one had anything to say.

We ate in absolute silence, but it was uncomfortable. Everyone was trying to think of something to say, but no one could come up with something worthwhile.

Finally, Itachi seemed to find a suitable topic. "Sasuke, you were rather late coming home today. Why is that?" he asked suddenly.

I looked up from my plate of chicken strips, rice and mashed potatoes. "Why do you ask?" I replied coldly.

Itachi smirked. He had done enough it seems, as my mother was the one who answered. "Don't be like that, Sasuke! Tell us, why were you late?"

Damn Itachi.

Sighing, I poked at my food. "A boy in school needed someone to tutor him in biology, so I offered. I was helping him all afternoon." I said monotonously.

My father looked up. "You're tutoring?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes."

"That's good." He said, offering a nod of approval. I returned it with a nod of thanks.

Yes...my family was fluent in 'Nodding'. It could be used in many different ways, and we had perfected the art of reading it.

We lapsed into silence once more, this time a more comfortable one. Although it was still awkward.

When we were finally finished, my mother looked at Itachi. "Itachi, please do the dishes." She asked.

I smirked at him. Ha, take that!

"I'm sorry mother, but I have several tests to grade tonight, and I need to get started on them. However, I know that Sasuke doesn't have homework, so I'm sure he'd love to do the dishes for you." Itachi said smoothly, smiling at me.

That smile was pure evil. I could even see the horns on his head!

My mother nodded. Basically, that meant she was saying "Alright Itachi. I'll be gullible and fall into your web of lies and thereby make Sasuke do the menial chore that was originally assigned to you."

...Or something along those lines.

Grumbling under my breath about demon brothers, I gathered the dishes and carried them through to the kitchen, placing them in the sink and groaning.

I hated doing the dishes.

Scowling, I began scrubbing off the various remnants of food on the plates, pots and utensils.

When I was struggling on a particularly crusty pan-really, what did my mother cook in this thing?- Itachi came waltzing in.

And I'm not lying. He literally waltzed. He was even humming the tune.

"Oh hello, little Sasu-ella!" he said cheerfully.

I stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Sasu-ella?"

"Well, you don't have 'Cinder' in your name, so you can't be Cinderella." He said.

I scoffed. "For your information, neither did the original. Her name was Ella, but because she had to clean the fireplace and got so dirty with cinders, the evil-and ugly- step-sisters called her Cinderella." I explained, and smirked at his surprised blink.

Looks like he's not so smart.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I had no idea you paid such close attention to little girls fairy tales. Do you remember when the prince was born too? Was his face the centre of your dirty thoughts earlier?" Itachi asked seriously.

I growled and threw some bubbly water at him. He stepped aside, and the water splashed against the floor.

Itachi glanced at it and smirked. "Mother, Sasuke is splashing the water everywhere." He called.

I glared at him. How old was he? "Tattle tale much?" I hissed and Itachi only grinned.

Our mother came in, staring at the wet patch on the floor. "Sasuke, why did you do that?"

"I was trying to get Itachi." I admitted bluntly.

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because he's an ass." I said.

My mother scowled. "Watch your language young man!" she snapped. Itachi's smirk widened.

I glared, but inside, my mind was being devious. Turning an innocent look to my mother, I put on a sweet voice. "But...Itachi said it was fine for me to use that word."

Itachi's smirk vanished and he looked nonplussed. My mother rounded on him. "You told him what?"

Before Itachi could speak, I elaborated. "Yeah. I heard him saying it, and when I told him he shouldn't, he said it was fine since it was referring to a donkey and that if I wanted to say it, I could."

"And when did he say this?" My mother asked darkly. Itachi was glaring at me, and I grinned, letting him know he was in for it.

"Oh, he told me this when I was six, but I've never forgotten." I said seriously.

"Sasuke, go to your room, sweetie. Also, I don't want to hear that word come out of your mouth again."

"Yes mother." I smiled and walked out of the kitchen. While my mother told Itachi to stay and turned around to clean up the small puddle, Itachi glared at me and mouth 'You're dead'.

I stuck my tongue out and flipped him off with both hands before ducking out of the kitchen.

Tonight's score, ladies and gentlemen, Sasuke: 1, Itachi: 0.

Walking into my room, I slumped down onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. Now that there were no interruptions, my mind was able to drift.

And drift it did. Right to a certain blonde haired boy with bright blue eyes.

I wonder what Naruto was doing right now?

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I had never screamed louder in my life. Later, I was surprised that the windows hadn't shattered at the mere pitch of my voice.

The light had switched on, the voice had spoken, and I'd just about had a fucking farm as I spun around to look at the intruder, screaming the whole time.

Before I could get a good glimpse, a pillow was pressed against my face, cutting of my scream.

"Shut up you idiot! Do you want someone to call the cops or something?" the voice said, only this time it wasn't icy and evil, but rather panicked and annoyed.

And it was familiar.

Struggling against the softness of the pillow-I know that sounds totally gay, but I was freaked out so I'm excused- I knocked it away to see a familiar face with brown hair and red tattoos.

"K-Kiba!"

"Yo."

He really should've seen it coming. He breaks into my house and scares the shit out of me, so he really shouldn't have been so surprised when I punched him in the face.

"Ouch! What the hell?"

"You fucking ass! What were you thinking, giving me a fucking heart attack!"

"I was thinking that, in the unlikely event that you did die, I would move to Mexico and sell tortillas on the streets to make a living. But seeing as you are alive and swearing, I guess my immigration shall be put on hold for now."

I stared at him. "You really planned all that?"

He shrugged. "I like being prepared." He then growled. "But I'm angry at you now!"

"Me? What did I do?"

"Why didn't you tell me you played Shaiya!"

Okay, now I was in a mix of surprise and confusion. "Uh...okay, first, you never asked, so I never bothered. Second, how did you know, and third, why the fuck does it matter?"

Kiba sighed, as if my questions were so dumb and troublesome and glared at me. " Okay, I get your first argument. Fine, I'll give you that. Then, second, I know because I used your laptop to type up my project-"

"What?"

"- shut up, and third, it matters because it means we were friends long before I started hanging out with you at school!" He finished, waving his arms.

I froze. We were friends on Shaiya? Was that even possible?

Suddenly, I felt my body go cold. Could it be that he...that Kiba...was Avenger?

"W-what do you mean?"

"I'm WolfPack01!" he said, grinning.

I blinked, all mind processes slowing down to slowly sort this out.

Kiba was WolfPack01.

Kiba was not Avenger.

Kiba was my friend before I knew it.

Kiba played Shaiya.

Kiba broke into my house and used my laptop.

Kiba knew my Shaiya password.

I had run out of miso ramen and needed to buy more.

...

Okay, now I'm _seriously _going to look for a cure for short attention spans. I mean, that was just out of the blue information.

Shaking my head, I stared at him. "So...you're WolfPack01." I said slowly.

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah!" suddenly, his face grew angry. "And I have some unfinished business with you!" he said, stepping forwards.

I stepped back, feeling the harsh aura coming off of him. "What are you t-talking about? Kiba?"

He lunged, grabbing my and shoving me down. I yelled and struggled, thrashing and kicking. Kiba pressed all his weight on me to keep me down. "Time for payback for that time you made all the people on Shaiya fight with me!" he said evilly and began to tickle my sides.

I yelled and cried out and writhed and twisted, but Kiba didn't give up. At one point, I was on my stomach and he was spread out on top of me, tickling under my arms and chuckling at my screeches.

What can I say? I am extremely ticklish and will start to scream like a little girl when tickled.

"N-No! Ahaha! S-stop, hehe, Stop! K-Kiba-ahahaha!"

Finally, his fingers stopped and he sat up, panting from the effort of keeping me from throwing him off and grinned. "My revenge is complete!" he cheered.

I waited until my laughing had evened out a bit before turning to glare at him. "Y-you're such a bastard!"

He shrugged. "So?"

I shook my head and slumped back down on the floor. "Shit, today was strange." I murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"It was just...odd."

"...Elaboration, please?"

"Firstly, I'm impressed you know that word." I received a smack on my leg for that. "And it was weird because I could've sworn someone was watching me while I was with Sasuke." I said slowly.

Kiba crawled onto his stomach and shuffled next to me, until we were both lying flat on our stomachs and facing the door. "Hold up. You were with Sasuke? Why is that?" he asked.

"He was tutoring me for biology."

"Uh-huh...and you asked him?"

"No, Shikamaru said he had a friend who would tutor me, and it turned out to be Sasuke."

"Right... And you were talking to Nara, why?"

"He talked to me."

"Was he a dick?"

"What?"

"Did he say anything mean or hurtful to you?"

"...No, nothing."

"Good."

"Why?"

"'Cause if he did, I'd have to kick his ass."

I smiled and nudged Kiba's shoulder. "Thanks man."

He grinned and nudged me back, a bit harder. "No problem. You're my buddy, Kyuubi!"

I chuckled. "It's amazing that we live in the same area." I mused and he nodded, rolling over onto his back and staring at the ceiling.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence, Kiba studying the dots on the roof and me staring at a small crack in the wall.

Finally, there came a knock on the door, and we both looked up. "Kiba, are you there?" a voice called.

He sighed. "Looks like my sister is back." He dragged himself to his feet and I followed.

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah. Hana."

"Cool."

We walked to the door and I unlocked it, revealing Kiba's brunette sister standing there. She was wearing an overlarge jacket, and standing a few feet away was a guy with spiky black hair and green eyes.

Kiba stared at the guy. "Who are you?" he asked rudely. Hana smacked him upside the head.

"This is Takeshi. He's my boyfriend." She said. Kiba and Takeshi began glaring at each other, while Hana stood to the side and I watched, amused.

"Nice to meet you." Takeshi said after a while. Kiba nodded curtly.

"You too."

I smirked and gently pushed Kiba out of the apartment. "Well, see you tomorrow Kibbles." I shut the door before he could hit me for the nickname and laughed as I headed to my bed.

Falling down onto the soft covers, I let out a long, tired sigh.

Today had been weird. Not only had Sasuke and I actually gotten along, since usually he was a cold prick who either ignored me or subtly tortured me, but I had also been stalked by some unkown person.

My mind went back to my run in with Kabuto earlier, and a chill ran down my spine. His laugh had sounded so similar to the one I'd heard in the bathroom, but could I really be so sure that it was the same one? Perhaps he just had a naturally evil chuckle?

After all, sometimes when the light hit his glasses just right and he smiled, he could look downright evil. So maybe I was just getting worked up over nothing.

I groaned and rubbed my face with my hands. I'd sort it all out tomorrow. I'd confront Kabuto and ask him directly. After all, if it was at school, he wouldn't be able to cause much of a scene without damaging himself as well as me, now could he?

At least... I hoped not.

Knowing my luck... well...I'm sure you can guess.

Grumbling about how the Gods hated me and were bent on giving me trouble, I went to change into some loose sweatpants, foregoing a shirt as I was too tired to search for one, and clicking off the light.

Lying back down on my bed, my thoughts drifted back to the problem that had seemed to start all of this.

Avenger.

Frankly, I was beginning to annoy myself with how I was avoiding him. What's the worst that could happen? He could say he didn't want to be my friend anymore, but that's about it.

I could deal with that. It's not like it hasn't happened before.

Gritting my teeth, I made a decision that night.

The next day, I would send a message to Avenger and tell him where to meet me.

* * *

**Aah...did it suck? Sorry if it did... *scratches cheek and glances off to the side* well...if it literally makes you gag at the suckishness, let me know and I'll re-write it, hopefully without the 'suck' option activated.**

**But aside from that,...I hope everyone's doing okay? A lot of people have been scared of the redbooton thing, but it's really no reason to freak out. Just keep posting your stories on here. No reason to make them think they've got any control on us, right? They can't drive us away unless we voluntarily move. I don't blame the authors that have left. They're simply protecting their literary works, and heck, even I have another two accounts for posting shit, but I'm not leaving FFnet. In fact, I probably won't use the other accounts unless something actually does happen to my stories, and once again, I highly doubt that. **

**Freedom for Fanfiction. I'm standing for it, and I'm standing right here. *grins wickedly***

**So, I think I've bored you enough, yeah? Sorry. You can move on to the next story now, since this chapter is done. Not sure when the next will come out, but I want to make sure it doesn't suck. Love you all, and reviews would be awesome! The Review Revolution has already gained quite a few members! *smirks* Join now and get a free virtual jacket!**

**~~3 Juura99  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**WAAAAAAH! *bashes head on table* FUUUUCK! This damn writer's block is going to be the death of me! TT^TT**

**Ugh, it took me so long to do this chapter, and it's not even that long! It's just cause I couldn't get into the mood to write...there was no drive or motivation... TT^TT and that made me depressed with myself because all of you were waiting for it! Nyuuu...**

**BUT! I have produced chapter 10, at last! And I'm beginning to get the feel for writing back, so hopefully this means that the writers block is going away...Oh PLEASE let it be going away! EVERYONE! *points* PLEASE wish me luck and pray that this damn writers curse goes away for good! Then I'll be able to produce more lovely, longer chappies of both Online, and new stories!**

**Well, I'm done ranting and begging for support.**

**Here it is! The next chapter of Online!  
**

* * *

The sun blossomed over the town, bathing it in its beautiful rays of light. Dark, menacing shadows were chased away, replaced with golden beams that illuminated everything, revealing that the world was, in fact, a beautiful place.

And I hated every minute of it.

This day was not going to be a good day. I had known that the moment I woke up.

I wasn't a superstitious person by nature, but even I knew when the universe was trying to tell me something.

First, my alarm went off an hour earlier than it was supposed to. The bloody thing was broken and now I either had to try and fix it, or save up for a new one.

I had been annoyed, but at the same time, it wasn't too bad. It only meant that perhaps this time, I'd get to school early and not have to worry about detention.

So, I had gotten up early and decided to treat myself to a nice big breakfast for once.

No such luck. When I opened my fridge, it was to find nothing but a cartoon of rotten milk, a half eaten, expired doughnut and a pack of yoghurt that was trying to stare me down. It even blinked!

So I had nothing to eat. I should have foreseen that, since I've been eating out or take away quite a lot lately, courtesy of Sakura or Kiba.

With a growling stomach, I decided to shower and leave a bit earlier than planned so that I could stop off at a cafe and grab something to eat.

And that's when the real tear jerker happened.

I undressed, stepped into the shower and put the hot water on.

It came out ice cold, and with such a strong burst of pressure, it stung my face the same way it would have if I'd been hit. After screaming and jumping out of the water's way, I slipped on, wouldn't you know it, a bar of soap that had gone flying during my 'great escape'. Before I'd hit the ground and cracked my skull open, however, I managed to grab onto the sink and save myself. Relief flooded my body as I pulled myself up, and with a laugh I'd patted the sink appreciatively.

And then the sink broke off the wall and smashed on the ground, right at my feet.

I think I must have stood there, hand still poised in a patting motion, staring at the large pieces of porcelain for at least ten minutes straight.

Then finally a shout of frustration tore itself from my throat, and I gave up on the bathroom, deciding that one day without a shower wasn't going to kill me, or anyone else.

So, after having been bitch-slapped by my shower, tripped by a murderous bar of soap, and then watched my poor sink die under my touch, I was sure today wasn't going to be one of the best days around.

My suspicions had only increased when my school shirt was retrieved from the laundry.

It was tinged pink.

The fucking washing machine turned my only clean school shirt..._pink_.

Yep, the day was going to suck.

Now I was walking through the chilly air of the morning, having just bought myself a bun and a cup of coffee.

I glared up at the sky, not at all happy that the sun was out. Even though it was bright, there was a reasonable wind bringing the chill into the town...or maybe it was just me, since I'd forgotten to bring my jacket.

Since it was still quite early, I only saw a few other students walking towards the school gates, and some of the teacher's cars were there.

I sighed loudly, chewing the last of my bun and washing it down with the gross dregs of my coffee before tossing the trash into the nearest bin. I stepped through the gates and tried not to think of all the things that might go wrong that day. After all, today was a big day.

Not only was I making a confrontation to someone in school, but I was also going to meet Avenger. I'd sent him a message before I left telling him to meet me at Konoha Park at four, if possible. I would wait an hour, and if he didn't show, I'd assume he was either busy, or didn't want to meet me after all.

I won't lie. I was incredibly nervous. What would happen? There were so many possible outcomes, some of them including paedophilia and man-babies.

I sniggered at the thought. Somehow, I just couldn't picture Avenger as a creepy old man that drooled over little boys and girls.

I was entertaining myself with thoughts of what Avenger might look like when yet another sign of how much the day was going to suck revealed itself.

I walked into the door.

"Ow, fuck!" I grunted, clapping a hand over my nose which was smarting from the impact. Since when did I start walking so fast?

The sound of laughter reached my ears, and I peered up to see the girl Karin with her friends. They were standing on the other side of the door, hands pressed to the wood.

So they'd been the ones to close it? Bitches.

I grabbed the handle, intent on going inside and brushing right past them, but they grabbed the other side and stopped me from pulling it open, giggling evilly all the while.

I growled and pulled harder, but with no luck. There were too many of them on the other side. Finally, with a defeated sigh, I gave them a middle finger salute and stalked away.

I would just use the janitors' entrance again.

Unfortunately, it was located on the other side of the building, so I had to jog a bit. There were large dustbins surrounding it, and the place stank to high heavens. I covered my nose and mouth with my hand, grimacing at the foul odour that still managed to seep through my fingers.

The walk to the door wasn't that long, but the smell was strong enough to have an almost crippling affect. I hunched over just a bit, trying to get my shirt up to replace my hand. Seriously, did someone die in this place? Maybe someone pissed Gaara off?

My attention was bought to the side when something clattered to the floor. I stared at the direction it came from, but nothing moved. Taking a deep breath through my shirt, I called out "Hello, is anyone there?" before clamping my mouth shut and covering it again.

No one answered, so I shrugged it off. I was heading close to the door when I heard it again, this time closer.

I spun around, my eyes searching over the area slowly. "Hello?"

No answer.

But I saw something shift. It was such a slight movement, but I caught it. Without really thinking about it, I strode over to the spot and looked around the large bin. "Caught you- huh?" I stopped when my eyes met dark onyx.

"Meow!"

A small black cat was crouched there, covered in filth and with ragged, unkempt fur. A stray.

Sighing, and gagging on the smell, I shooed the small thing away, annoyed that it had creeped me out so much.

As I watched it scamper away, I was struck with a sudden thought that made my shoulders sag.

"Oh great. A black cat crossed my path. How many years of shit luck am I going to have now?" I groaned, and turned around.

My face met a chest dressed in black, and a pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me closer and smothering me in that dark material.

It also muffled my scream. I struggled, my fists flailing and trying to make contact, but I couldn't see shit, so I had no idea how high to aim. Just when I thought my only option was to try kicking the stranger in the nads, a falsely cheery voice called out.

"My, you sound like such a girl when you scream. And you hit like a girl too! I guess this confirms my suspicions of you having no dick."

I froze, letting the words register. There was only one person that I knew who would say something like that so cheerfully.

I lowered my arms and slowly tilted my head up, finding no resistance to the small movement. When I could see again, I was met with closed eyes, a cheery fake smile and almost paper white skin.

"Sai?"

"Good morning dickless."

My cheeks reddened in anger and I tried to pull away from him, but he kept his arms steady. "Let me go you ass!" I growled.

Sai just smiled and tightened his hold. "Why?"

"Because I said so!" I snapped back. Seriously, what was with this guy? And that smile was getting creepy.

Sai just opened his eyes and stared down at me, seeming to search for something. Finally, he nodded and stepped back.

I rubbed my arms, trying to get rid of the feel of being held. It was an odd feeling I wasn't used to. Plus he was kind of cold.

We stood in silence for a while, Sai staring at me, while I stared off to the side uncomfortably. I was still rubbing my arms.

"Why is your shirt pink?" Sai asked suddenly, pointing at me. I sighed loudly.

"Washing machine is shit." I grumbled. He nodded and tilted his head, cupping his chin with one hand as he examined me. I glared at him as he hummed, closing his eyes before nodding and smiling once again. "What?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I was just concluding that you look rather cute in pink. Especially when you do that pouty thing with your lip. It's rather endearing." Sai said nonchalantly.

I spluttered, my face heating up. What the hell? When all he did was grin at me, I huffed and stomped past him, uncaring of whether he followed or not. Let the stupid ass die from the horrid smell.

I stomped all the way through the halls, grumbling about creepy artists all the while. I walked straight past Kiba, not even hearing him call after me. I wouldn't have noticed him at all if he had run after me and grabbed my shoulder.

"Oi, you okay?" he asked. I blinked.

"Oh, hi Kiba. Yeah, I'm just a bit distracted." I said, scratching my head awkwardly. He nodded, giving me a once over.

"Uh...why's your shirt pink?" he asked.

I groaned. Was it that noticeable? Glancing down at myself, I almost screeched. The pink had intensified since I'd put it on! Now it wasn't just tinged pink, it was pretty much a light, pastel pink.

I was doomed.

"My fucking washing machine stuffed up!" I whined, rubbing my face with my hands. Honestly, today was sucking three ways from Monday. And it had really only begun.

Kiba nodded in understanding. "I know the feeling. My sister Hana washed my clothes the one time in middle school. I had a pair of white briefs that turned hot pink!" he said.

I snorted. "Yeah, but it's your underwear. No one saw it."

Kiba grinned. "On the contrary, that day I was called up to the front of the school during morning announcements. I'd won a medal for something or other, and when I bowed my pants ripped. I didn't notice so I turned my ass to the school to bow to the teachers behind me, and everyone saw my pink behind." He laughed at his own humiliation, making me smile.

"So what did you do?" I questioned, enjoying the story.

"I flaunted it!" He declared loudly, pumping a fist in the air. "When I had to walk off stage, I knew by then they'd seen, so I added a sway to my hips and made a show of it."

I laughed long with him, picturing a slightly younger Kiba swaying his hips while going down a set of stairs. It was hilarious, especially when I added the pink underwear into the image.

"You're such a riot, Kiba." I grinned.

We continued down the halls, talking about random things and laughing. I felt a little better after chatting with him. Maybe the day would get better after all?

"And then he totally-oof!" I was cut off when someone walked into me, causing me to stumble back. Luckily, Kiba managed to steady me. From the sound of awkward steps, I knew the other person had stumbled too. After regaining my bearings, I looked up.

Sasuke was straightening up, Shikamaru behind him. Kiba pushed me upright, sending an annoyed glance to the raven. Sasuke scowled until his eyes landed on me, after which his expressions lightened to a slight frown. "Naruto?"

I rubbed my chest where we had collided and nodded. "Oh, hey teme."

He raised an eyebrow. "Teme?"

I shrugged. "One lesson of Biology isn't going to warrant a new nickname." I smirked at his slight growl, but then he was staring at me weirdly. My smirk faded and was replaced with a nervous frown. "What?"

Sasuke blinked, and nodded towards my chest. "Why is your shirt pink?"

I sighed loudly, turning and placing my head against the wall, banging it a few times.

I hate my life.

* * *

The first lesson was maths.

Maths with Mizuki-sensei.

The day just looks better and better. (insert sarcasm, followed by suicide by paper cut here)

Mizuki-sensei had, of course, jumped at the opportunity to humiliate me in front of the class, yet again. Upon seeing my shirt, he smirked and made me stand in the front, before giving a long winded speech about why what I was wearing was inappropriate for school.

I knew that quite a few of his, "what not to be" notes weren't about my uniform at all. They were about me as a person. And it seemed the rest of the class knew this too.

When he'd finally gotten his fill of my utter mortification and distress, he told me to take my seat, right after giving me a small slip of pink paper for my detention.

"You seem fond of the colour, so this should be like a gift to you." He had said.

Bastard. I bet the only woman who loved him was his mother, and even then she probably had to fight her 'must-kill' instinct when he came home for dinner.

When I'd taken my seat, Sakura had immediately started whispering comforting words in my ear, but I already knew most of her sentences off by heart. She had to use them almost every day, after all.

And I replied the same way I always do, it was almost robotic. "It's fine, Sakura-chan."

Oh man, did I really sound that defeated already? And it was only the first lesson. I was starting to wish I'd stayed home today. And was I really going to try and confront Kabuto today?

I groaned, burying my face in my arms and sighing. If my luck continued the way it was, I could already picture how it would go.

I would walk up to him, he would ask why my shirt was pink, then he would either be the stalker and rape me on the spot, or else I'd be wrong and make a complete ass of myself in front of him and the rest of the students, after which the teasing would reach a new level, and I would have to join Kiba and move to Mexico. I'm sure he could use some help selling tortillas.

I was staring blankly at the board, my head still resting comfortably on my arms when I felt something hit the side of my head, and stay there.

For a moment, I stayed still, my eyes blank, before I mechanically reached up and pulled the paper aeroplane out of my hair, where the point had stuck. I sent a quick glance around the class to see who could've sent it, but once again, no one was looking. Hoping beyond hope that it wasn't another suggestive message, I pulled the paper open and looked down at the neat scrawl.

_You look like the world just came to an end under your fingers, dobe. What's eating you?_

_-Sasuke._

I stared blankly at the paper as everything slowly clicked together. Sasuke was concerned about me? Or was my gloomy aura annoying him?

I sent a glance over to him, but he was still facing the front, taking notes like the good class representative he is.

Looking back at the paper, I felt a small smile stretch my face.

Sasuke was trying to be friendly, in his own, weird, bastard-y way.

And it was nice.

I scribbled down a reply, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke glance at me before returning to his notes.

Once I was done, I carefully folded the plane up again and waited until Mizuki was facing the other way and most of the students were looking down.

With a quick flip of the wrist, I tossed the plane into the air. I followed it with my eyes.

It flew straight up to Sasuke, but at the last moment he turned to look at me directly...and the plane flew into his eye.

I slapped a hand over my mouth, and later on I would reflect on how impressive it was that Sasuke managed to contain the shout of pain and surprise that had almost escaped his mouth. Instead, he managed to hiss and pull the deadly paper away from his eye, slapping it on the table.

He sent a one eyed, watery glare at me, and I put my hands together, bowing my head and mouthing 'sorry!' over and over. He scoffed and turned to face the front, slowly unfolding the paper. He kept his violated eye closed.

I swallowed and turned back to the front, internally beating myself up. Curse this day! Everything was going wrong!

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I contained another hiss. My eye stung like hell and I could feel the tearing behind my closed eyelid.

Stupid dobe and his stupid aim.

I knew I sounded childish, even if it was internal, but that had hurt. I'd turned around, planning on trying to catch Naruto's attention to see what was wrong, and instead I get an eyeful of paper plane. That wasn't pleasant.

I'm never looking at folded paper the same way again.

Grumbling in my head, I unfolded the paper and tried to read the terrible chicken scratch hand-writing. Honestly, the dobe needed to work on that.

_I'm not a dobe, teme!_

_And I'm having a seriously shit day, everything's going wrong and I have stuff to do later that makes me nervous, especially since I'm having such bad luck._

_But thanks for asking._

_-Naruto._

I smirked at the opening sentence, and by the slight grumble I heard behind and to the right, I knew Naruto had seen it.

So he was having some bad luck. Well, considering his shirt and what happened with Mizuki-sensei earlier, I can see why his day has seemed pretty shitty.

And he had stuff to do? Stuff that is making him nervous.

I raised an eyebrow at that. It sounded rather suspicious.

I decided I would ask him later, after class. After all, if I'm supposed to be his friend, then I'm supposed to make sure he's alright...right? That's what friends do, isn't it?

Looking back, I realized I didn't really know all that much about how to act with friends. Shikamaru and I, on the odd occasion we did hang around together, usually kept to ourselves and spoke about universal matters, not private ones.

And I don't think Shikamaru's ever gone out of his way to find out if there's something troubling me. And I haven't for him, either.

I chanced a glance at Naruto, but he was facing the front. He looked pretty frustrated. Most likely he was adding the plane incident onto his list of 'shit things that happened today'.

I sighed, and carefully opened my eye. It watered a bit, but was otherwise okay.

I almost jumped, key word being almost, when suddenly Mizuki-sensei barked out. "Uzumaki! Come up here and solve this equation!"

I looked at the board, and felt myself pale slightly. That equation was long, complex and severely confusing for someone who wasn't adept at maths. Naruto would never get it!

I looked at the blonde, since everyone else was I didn't need to hide it, and saw he had turned a rather sickly pale. Seems he knew just as well as I did how screwed he was.

Mizuki-sensei tapped his foot impatiently, but there was a smug look on his face.

What a bastard.

"Well, Uzumaki? Come up here right now."

Naruto gulped and slowly stood. He looked ready to die.

Anger spiked up inside of me. Why was Mizuki-senseo doing this when he knew full well that Naruto would never be able to solve that equation?

But by the look on Mizuki's face, I knew he was doing it on purpose. He was trying to humiliate the blonde.

I had to suppress a growl.

The board was near me, so when Naruto stood in front of it, he would be able to see he out of the corner of his eye. And at the same time, Mizuki sensei wouldn't be able to see me, due to Naruto blocking the way.

And all the students were focused on the board.

...Well, I want to be his friend, so here's the time to score brownie points.

I waved my hand carefully, making sure the movement was low so as not to draw unwanted attention.

Naruto saw it and looked at me carefully out the corner of his eye. I nodded towards the board, and then mouthed 'I'll tell you what to do!'

For a moment his eyes widened in disbelief, but I just nodded again to show him I was serious. Then he suppressed a grateful smile and gave a slight nod.

I began telling him what to do, forming the words carefully with my lips so that he would understand. He followed my instructions with such focus, and I could hear the soft gasps of surprise from some of the students.

I smirked.

When he was finished, Naruto stepped back, and I had a clear view of Mizuki-sensei. He looked utterly gobsmacked, his mouth hanging open and his eyes bulging at the writing on the board.

Naruto placed the chalk down, gave a short bow to Mizuki, and then calmly made his way to his seat where he sat down with a content smile on his face.

I caught his eyes, and he gave me a brilliant smile that made something inside of my melt a bit.

I smiled back before turning to the board.

Things were getting better.

* * *

**Hehehe...I wanted to add the 'Equation situation' at some point, so I thought why not here?**

**So, what did you think? Reviews would be VERY appreciated, as they help motivate me to write and thereby push me out of this slum I'm in! **

**Love you all~~!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**! I AM BACK WITH A VENGEANCE BABEH! *lightning flashes in background* AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Yes, my dear lovelies! I have finally rid myself of the dreaded curse of WRITERS BLOCK! MUAHAH! And to showcase this accomplishment, I bring you the LONGEST chapter in Online so far! Over 7,000 words! YEEEHA!**

**And a lot happens in this chapter!  
**

**Oh! And I'd just like to take a moment here to say... *clears throat and looks up with sparkly eyes* Everyone who reviewed... THANK YOU SO MUCH! It's because of all the reviews that I was able to throw the last dregs of writers block off of my back! Seriously, reviews are like energy drinks, or medicine! But awesome medicine. Not that bitter shit that makes you feel even more sick after taking it.**

**Warnings: Swearing, Kabuto (haha), some OOCness, but not too much, I don't think...and...uh...that's it, I think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I'm in an optimistic mood, so IT'S OKAY!**

**The next chapter of Online! Begins now!  
**

* * *

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before once again glancing around. The school hallways were empty, as everyone else was out to lunch.

Perfect.

I waited, giving myself an internal pep talk, until the sound of footsteps reached my ears. Peering around the corner, I saw my target making his way towards me. He was busy shuffling through his bag, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he tried to locate a book or some other item in the leathery depths.

Taking another big breath, I stepped out from around the corner and opened my mouth.

"Hello, Naruto-kun."

...

Damn, he beat me to it! I let out the breath and gave a small smile. "Hello, Kabuto-san." I returned his greeting, adding a tiny wave.

Kabuto smiled, reaching up and pushing his glasses back up his nose. His eyes twinkled in the light, and his silver hair seemed to have a glow around it.

He looked like the poster child for saints. His appearance just looked so innocent! I was beginning to feel guilty about what I had to ask him, since that would mean I don't believe in his angelic demeanour.

"So, is there something I can help you with today, Naruto-kun?" Kabuto asked kindly.

Damn him and his sweet voice! I feel like I'm about to accuse a little girl of murder!

...Why I compared him to a little _girl_, I have no idea, but I'd better not let him know about that. I don't think any guy would like that.

"U-Uh...well, actually t-there is something I need to ask you..." I stammered. His angelic appearance was making this hard! I was asking a question, a pretty dark question! I mean, 'Are you a psychotic stalker who dry humped me in the school bathrooms?' doesn't exactly sound like a light question.

I swallowed thickly and opened my mouth. Best to just force it out. "H-Have you been f-following me?"

Well, I suppose that wasn't too bad.

Kabuto blinked and tilted his head. "Following you? How do you mean?" he asked.

I gulped and fidgeted with my fingers. Looking up, I opened my mouth again, but the light overhead flickered, and for a moment the hallway was bathed in darkness, only an open door leaving a sliver of faint light.

And I froze, staring at Kabuto.

In the light, he had looked like an angel, with no possible cruel deeds on his wake, but in the dark...the guy looked more sinister than Jack the Ripper in a room full of swords on Halloween night.

His skin was quite pale, and he seemed to glow ever so slightly, but the shadows across his face distorted his small smile, making it look like a terrible leer. And his glasses, they hid his eyes, what little light there was reflecting off their surfaces to give him a pair of pure white orbs that just looked downright evil!

And when he reached up to push them back again, the light glinted, and I could almost see Igor shuffling behind him and asking 'Must I crank up the monster maker, Dr. Frankenstein?'

But then the light turned on again, and it was gone.

Kabuto's smile was innocent again, and he looked at me weirdly. I realized I was standing there, frozen stiff with my mouth hanging open and my eyes wide.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" he asked.

I jumped at the sudden question, snapping my mouth shut so hard my teeth clacked. "A-Ah...Yeah I'm f-fine...uh...I...I just...ah..." I struggled for words, looking at my hands and wringing my fingers together awkwardly.

After seeing him in the dark, I was completely freaked out and I hesitated to ask him my question now. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. I should leave now and forget about it.

"Naruto-kun, you look a bit pale. Do you feel sick?" A cold hand pressed against my forehead and I gasped and stumbled back.

When did he even move close to me?

Kabuto stood in front of me, hand still pressing against my forehead. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish, but no sounds came out. He was leaning so close, peering at me intently.

"Naruto-kun, you really do not look well. I think you should go to the nurses office." He said. His hand moved from my forehead to my cheek, and my breathing stopped, along with all bodily movement.

Was it just me, or was he leaning closer?

I wanted to step back, I wanted to say I was fine and run away, but...I couldn't move.

Suddenly, Kabuto was right there, his eyes boring into mine.

"Naruto-kun..." his voice was low.

And I panicked. With a sharp cry, I ripped away from him, shoving him aside and making a mad dash towards the right. I heard him shout something, but I was in such a blind panic, I didn't hear what he said.

Nor did I see the figure turning the corner.

Instead, I ran headfirst into that person. My head collided with their hard body, and I bounced back, my vision blurring before I hit the ground, and everything went black.

* * *

"What happened to him?"

"I'm not sure. I just turned the corner and he came barrelling into me."

"He was panicking about something though, wasn't he? At the speed he went, to knock himself out like that..."

"He was very pale, and seemed to be struggling breathing."

"You were there, do you know what happened?"

"No. He had stopped me to ask a question, but then the lights flickered off for a second and after that he just froze up. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn't say anything."

"I wonder what went wrong...He's never panicked like this before, over anything..."

I listened to the conversation, my mind slowly but surely piecing together what had happened and who was speaking.

"He's still asleep. He must have hit his head hard."

There was Sakura-chan...I should have figured she'd be there. She was always there for me when something like this happened, not that it happened often.

"Yeah, well he hit his head really hard! Didn't you see the bump? I'm surprised he didn't crack his skull open!"

And there was Kiba. His voice was recognizable in an instant. I could also smell the scent of dog food, so he was obviously close.

"Yes, he was going very fast. By the way, are you okay? He ran into you very hard, I'm surprised you managed to stay standing."

I froze. That was Kabuto's voice. The reasons for my earlier panic came flooding back, and I hardly dared breathe.

"Ah...I'm alright."

My eyes snapped open. Everything was blurry and out of focus, but I could see the shape of a tall, pale, raven haired boy.

Sasuke.

"Hmm...Ah! He's a awake!" Kiba's voice said, and after letting my eyes adjust a bit, the rest of the room came into focus.

Kiba and Sakura were sitting over to the left, looking down at me worriedly. Sasuke was standing on the right, also staring at me, but his face was almost completely blank. In fact, if it weren't for the concerned frown, I'd have thought he was just a mannequin or something.

Then, at the foot of my bed, was Kabuto. He was also watching me, but his expression was one of pure concern. Once again, I wasn't sure what to feel. He looked so kind and innocent now, but I couldn't get the image of him in the dark out of my mind...it was almost unreal how evil he'd seemed.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura asked, leaning closer and placing a gentle hand on my face. I let my eyes wander over to her, and gave a weak smile. Only now did I notice the splitting headache I had, and the horrid ringing in my ears, so it most likely looked more like a grimace than a smile.

"Uhm fayne, Sakuwa-chin."

...Wait, _what_?

I blinked owlishly up at her, my mouth gaping open. Sakura's brows furrowed, as she stared at me.

"I think he may have a mild concussion." Kabuto said, his voice laced with concern.

Sakura nodded and stood up. "I'm going to get the nurse. He needs to be looked at." She said. She gave me a quick wave and a small, worried smile, before leaving the room.

Kabuto looked after her as she went before sighing. "I should go with her. The nurse will want to know what happened." He said, and left.

That left only Kiba and Sasuke, who turned back to me.

"Hey, Blondie, why were you freaking out?" Kiba asked, scooting closer. Sasuke also took a seat next to me, and suddenly I noticed that he winced a bit.

"..Ah yew 'kay?" I slurred. Damn, I must have hit my head hard. It was difficult to form the words properly. And the ringing in my ears was so annoying.

Sasuke nodded. "I'm fine. What about you?"

I raised an eyebrow, or at least I think I did. "Ah cun tahlk popery...ho yew tink I am?"

He smirked, and Kiba chuckled.

"At least his personality is intact." Kiba said, and gave me a grin. I just shrugged my shoulders and worked my jaw a bit, hoping the slur in my voice would go away. It sounded so lame.

"What happen?" I asked, pleased when it came out pretty clear.

Kiba blinked. "I was hoping you could tell us! Sakura and I were on our way to find you, when suddenly we saw Sasuke and Kabuto-san carrying your unconscious ass to the nurse's office! Apparently, you freaked out while talking to Kabuto-san and then ran full speed into Sasuke!" he said, waving his arms about for emphasis.

I hissed at his loud voice, raising a weak hand to cover my ear. Sasuke noticed it and leant over, slapping Kiba's hands down.

"Ouch! What the hell?"

"Be quiet. Don't make so much noise." Sasuke scolded coldly. Kiba glared at him, but after noticing I was in pain, he quieted down with a mumbled "Sorry."

For a moment, we sat there in silence, Kiba looking at his hands, me waiting for the ringing to stop, and Sasuke staring at me.

When the ringing in my ears faded a little, I looked up. "...What time is it?" At least my speech was better, if still a little bit slurred.

"It's 1:15." Kiba said, looking at his watch.

"Don't you guys have class?" I asked, looking between them.

Kiba chuckled guiltily. "Yeah but...I can't just leave my friend on the nurses office unprotected! She might be some kind of psycho who'll do all these weird experiments on you!" he finished with a serious tone.

"Oh, I'm sure I can resist experimenting on Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun. No need to worry." Said a voice near the door.

We snapped our heads to look at the door, seeing Sakura, Kabuto and the school nurse Shizune standing there. Kiba went bright red, sputtering out a "S-sorry miss, I was just joking!" while Sasuke smirked and I laughed.

Shizune waved her hand to quiet Kiba down and walked over to me. "Naruto-kun, your friends tell me you panicked a bit and rammed into Sasuke-kun before hitting your head on the ground, correct?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.

I nodded. "Yes Shizune-sensei."

She furrowed her brows. "Lean a bit forward for me please, I want to see the bump." I did so, the ringing in my ears returning. I hissed.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" Shizune asked.

"I-It's just...my ears are ringing..."

She made an understanding noise and continued examining my head before gently pushing me back.

Standing up, she turned to everyone. "It appears he has a mild concussion." She stated. Sakura sighed.

"I thought it might've been that. How many days will he need to rest?" she asked.

Shizune cupped her chin, looking at me intently. "...I'd give him at least three days full rest. And if he still has symptoms of a concussion, then a week to be safe."

The others nodded. I just shrugged. Hey, I was getting out of school. Maybe by the time I came back, everyone would realize how much of a ball of sunshine I was and miss me terribly and therefore welcome me back with open arms and huge smiles and I'll live happily ever after.

...Ha ha...wishful thinking.

"So, he should probably go home now." Shizune said, looking at me. "I can give you a lift." She said, but I shook my head.

"S'fine. I can get home by myself." I said.

"But Naruto-kun, you should rest as much as possible, and I know that it's a long walk home for you...My car is right in front of the school, and it'll only take five minutes to drive you-"

I shook my head furiously, regretting it when everything swayed. "No! I'm fine, Shizune-sensei, really! I can manage!" I insisted, a slight edge to my voice.

I did not like cars.

I really, really didn't like cars.

I wasn't sure why, but every time someone tried to get me into any type of vehicle I would start freaking out, especially when it came to buses and trains. It was like a natural response or something.

Tsunade had once, while she was drunk out of her mind, said it came from a past trauma. But she had passed out before I could find out more, and when I asked her the next day, she'd obstinately denied ever saying anything of the sort.

The same thing happened when I asked Jiraiya and Iruka-sensei. They just kept quiet and or changed the subject quickly.

Sakura was looking at me worriedly, already aware of my reasons for declining Shizune's offer.

Kiba was staring between us, and Sasuke was watching me. I kept my gaze on my hands.

Shizune seemed to catch on to the edge on my voice, and maybe she guessed my reasons, or perhaps Tsunade had told her, since Shizune was an old friend. But whatever the case, she sighed and said "Alright. But I want someone to accompany him home." She said and left.

Kabuto readjusted his glasses. "I'd like to help, however, I get the feeling that I may have had a part in Naruto-kun's earlier panic attack, so I'd rather not risk anything. Sorry, and goodbye. I hope you feel better, Naruto-kun." He called, waving and leaving the room.

I nodded numbly, finally looking up at the last three people.

Kiba stretched his arm, looking at me. Sakura was biting her lip, and Sasuke was as blank and impassive as ever.

I sighed. "I don't need help...I'll be fine."

"No, Naruto. Someone needs to go with you." Sakura insisted.

Kiba clicked his neck and stood. "Okay then, I'll ta-"

"I'll take him."

We all turned to Sasuke, who stared back with no emotion. I knew my mouth was hanging open, and Kiba still had his neck tilted, halfway through clicking it. Sakura smiled a little.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun."

He nodded and stood up, holding out a hand for me. I stared at him, but Kiba spoke first.

"Whoa, whoa! I can take him! Hell, I live next door! I can take him by myself!" he said.

"Inuzuka-kun, are you aware of the test that both you, and Haruno-san are having in your next class, which will start in ten minutes, I might add?" Sasuke asked, voice monotone even as he wrapped his fingers around my arm and started dragging me off the bed.

Kiba paused, his eyes going wide. "...There's a test in Anko-sensei's class?" he asked. Sakura also seemed surprised.

Sasuke nodded. "It's a quiz that actually counts for a large part of your grade. She did put up a notice, but she's also the type of teacher who doesn't remind her students of things like this. If either of you two miss that test, it'll be very bad for you." Sasuke said, now helping me to stand straight.

I was still dumbstruck that he had offered to help me so readily.

Kiba swallowed thickly. "S-so...why are you telling us this?"

Sasuke actually took the time to glare at the brunette for his stupidity. Even I could understand what Sasuke was getting at.

Sakura sighed at the boy's idiocy. "Kiba, what Sasuke-kun is saying is that we can't afford to take time away from class to take Naruto home. Sasuke-kun has obviously taken the test, or his class didn't need it, and since he will have Shizune-sensei's permission, he can leave the school without having to worry about his grades. He's doing this both for Naruto's sake and for us, so be grateful, shut up and let's get to class." She said.

Kiba looked hesitant, glancing between me and Sasuke to Sakura, but after looking at her determined eyes for a few seconds he caved, heaving a sigh and looking directly at Sasuke.

"Take care of him, Uchiha." He said sternly.

Sasuke only grunted in return and continued to hoist me up, making sure I stayed upright and keeping a hand on my shoulder just in case.

Sakura walked forward and gave me a tight hug, telling me to take it easy and rest. Kiba also stepped forward and grabbed my hand, giving it a rough shake.

"I'll miss you, Blondie." He said, with a smile.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "I'm going home, you guys, not dying." I grinned, the others laughing, while Sasuke just grunted. Sakura grabbed Kiba's arm and dragged him out of the room, calling over for me to get rest and a whole lot of other medical shit that I was never going to remember.

Sasuke and I slowly started forwards.

"Wait...where's my stuff?" I asked, looking around. He turned, reaching over to the chair he had been sitting in and grabbing my bag, which had been resting beside it. After throwing it over his shoulder, he continued walking.

"Come on, dobe. Let's get you home."

* * *

The walk was slow, but luckily the streets weren't all that busy, so we made our way through with minimum stares and glances.

My head was throbbing, but I kept my mouth shut. Complaining about it wouldn't make it go away, I'd learned that a long time ago.

We were halfway to my house when the throbbing got unbearable, however, and I pulled away to lean against the wall, taking deep breaths and holding my head.

"Oi, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, coming up and bending down slightly to look at my face. "...You're pale."

I gave a wry smile. "I've got one hell of a headache...I think I'm entitled to a loss of colour for a day." I said. The cool brick of the building felt nice against my head, so I leant against it with a sigh.

Sasuke studied me for a moment, before looking in the direction of my apartment. If one squinted, and knew where to look, you would be able to spot the small ledge where my front door was located from here.

After a moment of blissful silence, Sasuke sighed and took me bag off his shoulder. "Put this on." He said, holding it out to me.

I raised an eyebrow, but he gave me his 'question-and-die' look, so I just rolled my eyes and slung my bag onto my back.

"Okay, teme, now what's the next part of your undoubtedly genius plan?" I asked.

He growled. "Keep talking like that, and I'll leave you here." He warned, but he stepped forwards and turned his back to me before crouching down. "Get on."

I stared at his back incredulously. "...Beg your pardon?"

"Get on, dobe."

"Hell no!"

"Why not?" he snapped, glaring over his shoulder.

I backed up, pressing against the wall and waving my hand in front of me. "B-Because! I'm a dude! And you're a dude! And dudes don't give other dudes piggy back rides!" I stuttered. Okay, so technically I was just bullshitting. I was bi, so I didn't really give a rat's ass about getting a ride from a guy. But somehow the fact that it was Uchiha Sasuke offering made my stomach twist and flop weirdly. Sasuke was supposed to be the cold hearted prick who would just grunt at a dying person, not a not-so-cold hearted prick who would grunt at a dying person before calling the ambulance and performing first aid on said dying person.

...Understand that? No?

Neither did I, so don't worry.

Sasuke gave an exasperated sigh and glared harder. "Dobe, no discussions. Get on or I'll carry you bridal style the rest of the way. It's either some small embarrassment, or the utter loss of your dignity as a man. Your choice." He said with a final tone.

I scowled, swallowing thickly and looking at his back. It did look rather comfortable, and it would save me the trouble of walking with this damn headache.

Biting my lip, I sighed and gave a short nod. "Fine teme, you win." I grumbled. I resisted, with great difficulty, the urge to strangle him when he gave a smug smirk, and climbed onto his back.

His arms came around to wrap under my thighs and keep me seated. I wrapped my arms over his shoulders and loosely around his neck. He stood up and started walking towards me home.

At first I tried to keep my head up, but my aching neck won over my stubbornness, and my head dropped down onto the crook on his neck. I gasped at the cool feeling of his skin on my forehead.

"You're skin is really cool." I noted, closing my eyes and enjoying the pleasant chill that dulled my headache a bit.

Sasuke hummed, but didn't say anything. The walk was quiet the rest of the way, and as we neared my apartment, my head began to feel so much better due to the cold skin of the boy carrying me.

A content sigh slipped past my lips, brushing out over Sasuke's neck. I thought I felt him stumble slightly, but he was walking fine when I next checked, so I dismissed it.

We arrived at the stairs that led up to my level, and Sasuke paused to catch his breath.

I looked up. "Uh...I can climb the stairs by myself..." I mumbled, and moved to get off, but Sasuke only tightened his grip.

"No." He said sternly, and started climbing. I clung a bit tighter and leant forwards so as to not pull him back.

My eyelids felt heavy, so they dropped to half mast. There was something soothing about the slight rocking motion I was in when Sasuke walked, and his body had heated up slightly, sending a comfortable warmth through. My chin rested on his shoulder, and out of the corner of my eyes, I could see one side of his face, a frown of concentration and his eyes trained on the stairs to check for obstacles.

A small smile wormed its way onto my face, and I laughed softly. "Teme, you're waking up a staircase, not trying to manoeuvre through lasers. I doubt you need such a high level of concentration." I teased. When he just scowled, I reached up and ran my index finger over the skin between his eyebrows, where it was a bit wrinkled.

"...Naruto?"

"Don't scowl all the time. You'll get wrinkles. Beside, you look better when you smile." I said absently and stifled a yawn. I was feeling sleepy now, and a nap was sounding great.

Sasuke stopped midway on the stairs and turned his face slightly to get a better view of me.

"...What did you say?" he asked softly.

"I said you look better when you smile. I've seen it, and you don't look so mean and intimidating when you do. In fact you look kind of cute. You should smile more often." I rambled, hardly listening to what I was saying. If I had, I'd probably have kicked myself while blushing madly, but for now I was just too lazy and drowsy to focus on that.

Sasuke stayed still for a few moments, and I had a feeling he looked shocked, before he let out a soft 'Hn' and continued on his way.

We reached the top and Sasuke walked over to my door. "Naruto, I need the keys."

"In my back pocket..." I mumbled sleepily, eyes shut and breathing slowly evening out. Sasuke sighed and I felt myself lowered to the floor slowly and cracked my eyes open to see Sasuke reaching over. His fingers slipped into my back pocket almost shyly as they burrowed around, trying to locate my hidden keys.

I opened my eyes more fully, and caught sight of the slight reddish tinge to his usually pale cheeks. A smirk formed on my face, and I chuckled slyly, drawing his attention.

"Aw, are you embarrassed about touching my ass?" I joked, and wiggled my butt a bit. Sasuke's face went a bit redder, and he snatched the keys and pulled them out harshly before smacking me on the chest.

"Idiot."

"Jerk."

"Moron."

"Ass."

"Klutz."

"Princess."

We were both smirking by the end of our little spat as Sasuke unlocked my door, throwing my keys over to the bed opposite us. He turned and picked me up. "That's 'Your Highness' to _you_, dobe." He said.

I laughed, letting him pick me up and carry me over to my bed. He dumped me down and dusted his hands off, still smirking.

I laughed a bit more, looking up at him sleepily. "...Hey, Your Highness?"

Sasuke's smirk grew. "Yes, civilian?"

"...Thanks...you know, for helping me home and shit."

Sasuke's smirk changed into a smile. He leant a bit closer and tugged the blanket over me.

"...No problem." He said.

I returned the smile, ignoring the odd fluttering in my stomach at his show of kindness. Maybe he wasn't as much of an ass as I always thought.

Tiredly, I reached up a hand and poked his forehead.

"See...you look really nice when you smile... you should...do it...more..." I trailed off, sleep clawing at my mind and dragging me down into its dark, yet welcoming depths.

Just before all consciousness was torn away from me, I felt Sasuke brush some hair off my face before whispering a goodbye.

I smiled and drifted off to pleasant dreams.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

When I arrived back at the school after dropping Naruto off, I was cornered by both Haruno and Inuzuka, who were two steps away from dragging me away and tying me to a chair to begin an interrogation.

Frankly, if I weren't as great an Uchiha as I was-shut up, I'm allowed to ego boost- then I'd have flinched and cowered under their hard gazes.

"Well Sasuke-kun? Is he alright? Did he get home okay?" Sakura began, hands on her hips.

"Yeah, did he get rest? Did he puke on you at all? Did you hurt him? Did you rape him? Answer me dammit!" Kiba had taken the next step and was now shaking me by the shoulders, his eye growing ever frantic as more and more ridiculous questions flowed from his mouth like a waterfall.

"-Was he delirious? Did you use bondage? Did you spank him you _sick_ motherfu-"

"Will you kindly shut the fuck up and let me talk, Inuzuka?" I snapped, finally fed up with the constant shaking and the forming bruises on my shoulders. Seriously this guy was a nutcase.

Sakura sighed and stepped forward, grabbing Kiba's arm and pulling him away from me.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun. We're both just worried. Naruto is our close friend." She said.

I nodded, straightening out my shirt. "I understand that. And don't worry, I got him home safely. He went to sleep almost as soon as we arrived."

Sakura sighed, obviously relieved, but Kiba narrowed his eyes.

"...So _did_ you rape him?"

I glared at him. "The fuck is with that question? Why would I do something like that?" I snapped.

Kiba crossed his arms, looking me up and down before shrugging. "Well, it's obvious you're gay, and it's also a fact that Naruto is a looker, so I have every right to be concerned for his ass's virginity." He said it so matter-of-factly, it was almost as if he'd read it out of a textbook.

Sakura gaped at him, her cheeks going red. "Kiba! You can't just assume someone's gay and say things like that!" she whacked him over the head and turned to me. "I am so sorry, Sasuke-kun! He's an idiot, he doesn't know what he's say-"

"How did you know?"

The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them, and I snapped my mouth closed, my teeth clacking loudly in the echoing silence following my short outburst. Sakura was staring at me wide-eyed, her mouth open in shock. Kiba blinked at me.

"...Wait, I was _right_?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes menacingly, and inside my inner self was repeating the words 'oh shit'.

Kiba's eyes narrowed as much as mine, and a scowl formed on his face. "So you are gay. Well, that just makes me all the more wary of you." He growled.

I scoffed and crossed my arms. "And why does my sexuality affect anything?"

"Because I don't want Naruto getting hurt by some asshole like you." Kiba snapped, pointing a finger in my face.

I glared. "And what makes you think I'm going to hurt him?"

"Because that's what people like you do!"

"People like _me_?"

"Stuck up pricks who only think of themselves and have no regard for those considered lower than them! Just because you've been acting all buddy-buddy with Naruto lately doesn't forgive all the times you've given him shit before, and I know you have!" Kiba was almost yelling now. "And the fact that you're gay only makes it even more suspicious to me! Are you only acting nice because you want to get into his pants? Or are your actions clean?"

"Did it ever occur in that miniscule organism you call a brain that perhaps I just wanted to be his friend?" I snapped back, patience lost.

Sakura was standing to the side, looking fearfully between us.

Kiba glared at me, his mouth pulled back into a snarl that showcased his sharp canines. He really looked like a dog.

"I know your type, Uchiha! You never do anything without an ulterior motive that benefits you in some way! And the sudden change of heart only proves my point!"

I glared at him, but said nothing. After all he was right. I did have ulterior motives at first. I was getting close to Naruto to find out about Kyuubi, but...things had changed...

I sighed, looking down and running a hand through my hair. "Look...you're right." I started.

Sakura gasped and Kiba crouched slightly, his snarl widening. Before he could tear my throat out, however, I hurried on.

"I did have ulterior motives before, but things changed! After spending some time with Naruto, I came to see he's not a bad guy...I came to see he's actually a great person and an incredible friend, and now I only want to be his friend! I promise you, I have no evil intentions!" I said, using the most sincere voice I could. It wasn't had, considering everything I was saying was true. I did want to be Naruto's friend. There was something about him that was so...endearing.

My mind flashed back to the time I was carrying him home. When he had leaned into my shoulder like that, my heart had raced, almost beating painfully hard against my chest. He was so warm, every inch of his body was warm, as if he was his own personal sun. The feel of his breath fanning over my neck had made me feel weak and I'd almost fallen to the ground, but luckily managed to right myself quickly.

And when he commented on my smile...I hadn't been able to stop the one that curled my lips. It was hidden beneath my bangs, so he didn't see it, but the damn thing threatened to split my face in half. I knew I probably looked like a total idiot, grinning the way I was, but just that sentence had made something inside of me melt, something that had long been frozen over from the loneliness that surrounding the members of the Uchiha family.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Kiba, who was walking towards me. He looked calm, calculating, and his eyes darting over my face.

I stood my ground, staring back at him as he came to a stop in front of me. For five tense minutes, we stared at each other, until finally Kiba sighed, and lowered his gaze to his hand.

"...I can't see any lie in your eyes. I guess you're telling the truth." He muttered.

Sakura let out a loud breath, her hand clutching over her heart. "That was tense." She chuckled weakly.

I sighed too and gave a miniature smirk. "I told you-" the rest of my sentence was lost when Kiba's fist connected with the side of my face. I stumbled to the side, hitting the wall and sliding down it a few inches as my hand came up to my cheek.

Sakura gasped loudly, her eyes growing larger than dinner plates while Kiba shook out his fist.

"...Fuck, your cheek bones are _sharp_!" He hissed, grabbing his knuckles and wincing.

I only stared at him incredulously. "...Care to explain what the fuck you just did that for?" I hissed, wincing when my jaw clicked painfully.

Kiba looked up, rubbing his hand and smirking. "That, my dear Uchiha, was punishment for all the shit you've given Naruto in the past, as well as for having ulterior motives at the beginning of your friendship with him. But now, all is good." He said, grinning.

I just stared at him, lost for words. "...Hn."

I was lost for _words_, not guttural sounds.

Kiba's grin widened as the bell rang. "Well, unfortunately, I have detention today, so I'll be off." He said, waving to us as he walked away.

I straightened up as Sakura walked over to me, looking at my cheek nervously. "I'm sorry he did that, Sasuke-kun. Kiba's become very protective of Naruto. He considers him like a brother, I suppose." She said softly.

I nodded in understanding. "It's okay...he's right. I deserved that."

Sakura smiled and bid farewell. I watched her walk out of the hall and out of sight.

Once I was sure no one was around, I leant back against the wall and placed a hand on my cheek tenderly. "...Ouch."

The chill wind that had let up earlier was back with a vengeance, and I shivered slightly, pulling my school jacket a bit closer. Students passed by every now and then, heading the same way home that I was. A few girls called out to me, but as usual I just ignored them completely.

It occurred to me that now, both Sakura and Kiba knew I was gay. Although I didn't care to much about them knowing, I was worried that Kiba would start keeping a close eye on me when I'm around Naruto.

It's true I said I only wanted to be friends but...Naruto was really adorable. I couldn't deny that; he was a gorgeous boy and I felt something stir inside me every time I saw him smile. There was almost something addictive about his personality.

I pinched my arm harshly to stop all the mushy thoughts. Really, I was an Uchiha, and I'd already showed enough out-of-character-ness in one day dammit.

I was about a block or two from home when suddenly the silence around me was interrupted by a song.

'_My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, you're damn right, it's betta than yours! Ya damn right, it's betta than yours!'_

With a growl I pulled my phone out of my pocket and snapped it open. "Itachi, you ever mess with my ringtone again, I'll fucking kill you." I snarled.

Itachi's chuckled was pure evil, but when he spoke there was a slight seriousness in his tone. "Sasuke, you need to head over to Konoha Park." He said.

I paused where I was, somewhere on the corner of the sidewalk. "What?"

"You need to be at Konoha Park before four. And it's now three-forty. So you've got twenty minutes and counting."

"And why, pray tell, do I have to go over six blocks back to Konoha Park in under twenty and counting minutes?" I asked angrily. Itachi sighed. And from that sigh, I could tell he was feeling a little uncomfortable. "...Itachi?"

"...You got an email from someone saying you must meet them there."

The only thing that registered in my mind was that Itachi had known I'd gotten an email. I didn't check mine this morning, which meant...

"...You _hacked _into my computer?" I demanded angrily.

"Yes."

"Itachi!"

"What? It's not the first time I've done it..."

"Excuse me?"

"I have to make sure you're not doing anything inappropriate now don't I, little brother?"

"You jerkface! When I get home, I'm going to shove mom's cactus up your ass!"

"So violent...and you need to be at the park remember? You don't want to keep your dear Kyuubi waiting now do you?"

I froze, my eyes widening. "...What did you say?"

Itachi let out an irritated groan and snapped. "Dammit Sasuke! Kyuubi, the boy I _know_ you've been talking to over that bloody online game shit wants to meet you _today_, at _four_, at _Konoha fucking Park_! So get your scrawny, idiotic, duck-butt ass to the park or so help me God I'm going to shove your face in the oven and bake you into an Uchiha-pudding! Now get _moving_!" and with that he hung up.

I continued to stare at nothing, still holding the phone to my ear as everything slowly pieced together.

Kyuubi wanted to meet me.

He wanted to meet me today.

I could finally see who he really was.

Today.

At the park.

At...four.

I pulled my phone away from my ear and stared at the time.

_Ten _to four.

"SHIT!" with that loud curse, I spun around and ran as fast as my, according to my older brother, scrawny, idiotic, duck-butt ass could go towards Konoha Park.

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

**~An hour earlier~**

I opened my eyes slowly and yawned, not bothering to cover my mouth since I was alone. The sun was getting lower, and a sliver of light broke through my curtains and splashed against my face, causing me to squint and turn over to avoid it.

"Bloody sun." I mumbled. Silence followed my statement, save for the soft, consistant ticking of my alarm clock.

The small, mechanical noise brought forth a memory, and I rolled over again, eyes growing as I saw it was just after three.

I was supposed to meet Avenger at Konoha Park at four.

Staring at the little numbers, I thought about it. Should I really leave my home to meet him? I did have a concussion, however mild it may be, so perhaps this was not the best idea.

However, even as I thought that, I knew I wasn't going to let something like a bump on the head stop me. I had made a decision, so I was going to stick to it.

If I didn't do it now, I'd most likely never pluck up enough courage to call him out again.

Groaning, I slid out of bed carefully and padded over to the bathroom, the cold tile making me hiss as it spread a chill through my bare feet.

When did I even take my shoes off?

I thought back and realized Sasuke must have slipped them off at once point without me even noticing. Sly bastard.

My thoughts roamed back to when he'd, quite literally, tucked me into bed. I felt my cheeks heat up at realizing how much I actually enjoyed that. It felt so nice to have someone care for me like that, and Sasuke had hardly done a thing.

I chuckled at my own stupidity, turning to wash my hands.

And that's when I remember I no longer had a sink.

Staring glumly at the pieces of porcelain that still littered my bathroom floor, I heaved a sigh.

"Guess I'm just going like this." I murmured, heading back out to find some clothes. Pulling my drawer open, I pulled out the special shirt I'd made.

It wasn't all that special, actually. I'd taken one of the few plain black shirts I had, and used red fabric paint-courtesy of Sakura- to paint the name 'Kyuubi' on the back. This was the perfect way for Avenger to find me, since he'd be the only one in the crowd to realize the meaning behind the name.

Stripping out of my pink shirt, which I threw straight into the trash, I pulled the shirt over my head, wincing when it brushed over the bump on my head, and then turned to get a pair of jeans.

When I was all nice and dressed, I grabbed my keys, sitting nearby, and my wallet, just in case. After a moment of thought, I took my phone too. It was an old thing, but it would still dial 911 correctly, just in case.

Slipping my things into my pockets, I stepped into my shoes and left my little haven, locking the door behind me before making my way over to the stairs.

The walk to the park was okay, with only a few glares my way from some old people climbing off a bus nearby. I swiftly avoided their glares and crossed the road. I'd noticed before that quite often people would glare harder when I was within the vicinity of a bus.

Weird, I know, but a fact I'd discovered a while ago.

When the gates to the park came into view, I sighed. It was a little chilly out, and once again I'd forgotten my jacket. Oh well, I was only going to wait for a little bit.

The trees whispered in the wind, and a few straggling birds chirped lazily in the trees, their calls sounding more recorded and automatic than willed and cheerful. The sun did little to lessen the chilled air, and my arms were slowly gaining goose bumps as I trudged along.

A thin, serpentine river cut through the park, weaving to and fro through the green grass, with small pebbles adorning the edges like smooth grey scales protecting the body of water. (Haha, pun!)

A bride with redwood railings and a white banner over one end, proclaiming 'Konoha Bridge' sat over the deepest and widest part of the river. Considering the fact that I could see the bottom clearly, and that the water levels would reach my mid calf at most, this was not a very impressive structure.

However, it was a quaint little thing, and I wandered towards it, choosing this as my waiting spot and leaning against the railing, studying my reflection in the clear water. The sun sparkled off the water, and the effect reached my skin, both in the water and out. I laughed, seeing as now I reminded myself as one of those sparkly vampires from that Twilight movie. Sakura had made me and Kiba watch it not too long ago.

I had said it was fine.

Kiba had said "What the hell? The vampires are a bunch of sparkly _wankers_! She should so go with Jacob! He's a werewolf for Pete's sake! Werewolves are cool!"

And I had replied, just to make Kiba squirm, by saying "Actually, Edward and Jacob should just ditch Bella, since she's an indecisive, clingy moron and get together to have hot, supernatural butt-sex!"

Sakura had laughed so hard she'd cried while Kiba had sprayed his drink all over the floor and stared at me with the biggest, most mortified pair of eyes on the planet.

I laughed softly at the memory, crossing my arms and leaning against them. The breeze ruffled my hair as I waited, and I shivered in the cold.

My eyes wandered over the grounds, wondering if Avenger would show up. If he didn't, I didn't know what I'd think. I would be hurt, without a doubt. It hurt just thinking about it, really. But I suppose I would get over it with time. After all, I had friends. Sakura, and Kiba, and even Sasuke and Shikamaru, sort of.

I blinked, wondering when exactly I'd started considering Sasuke as a friend. While it was true we'd spent some time together, what with tutoring in biology and a little bit at school, I still didn't know all that much about him.

But the truth was that I did consider him a friend.

My mind flashed the incident in maths, where Sasuke had helped me finish the equation, and as an add-on, mortify Mizuki-sensei.

I smirked, remembering the look on his face. He'd looked absolutely stumped, and it had taken a lot of willpower not to laugh in his face.

I closed my eyes and smiled, thinking about the times me and Sasuke had spent together, however little they were.

Yes, I concluded. He was a friend. A new friend.

And I hoped he'd stay a friend.

The sound of heavy footsteps made my eyes snap open and my heart speed up. This was it.

I decided to stay facing the river, just in case this person was only a jogger passing by.

But when the steps echoed on the bridge before halting only a few feet behind me, I tensed. It was time.

A breathless, tired, and very familiar voice spoke up. "...Naruto..."

I spun around at the familiar baritone, my head tilting in confusion.

"...Sasuke? What are you doing here?" I asked slowly.

It wouldn't do for him to be here when Avenger showed up. That might prove to be a bit awkward.

Sasuke panted a bit more, his hands on his knees. It was only when he looked up and brushed some hair away from his face that I noticed the nasty bruise on his cheek. "Hey what happened to your-"

"Dobe, I'm Avenger."

My mouth stayed open even as the words stopped. My eyes grew so wide, I'm surprised I didn't hear the sound of skin tearing to make the size.

In the background the river hissed, the birds robotically chirped, and the trees continued to whisper their dirty little secrets.

When my mouth finally worked again, I closed it once, opened it and...

"...Oh."

* * *

**Muahahahhaha! And so they meet! ... *smirks* hey, I said they'd meet in this chapter. I didn't say we'd see waht happened afterwards. That's for the next chapter. *eyes go wide and dives to avoid being hit by objects thrown at her* Shit! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! AAH! *gets hit by shoe* Ow! I promise the next chapter will have plenty of awkward meetings and such! There will be many gay baby's born next chapter! (lol, someone once said that everytime there's an awkward silence, a gay child is born.)**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and remember, REviews make the chapters come faster and longer! OH YEAH!**

**Love you all! See you next chapter!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Ahaha...aah...geez, I don't know what to say. This chapter is...well, it is what it is.**

**Warnings: swearing, awkwardness, random insanity-ness, self-inclusion and slight OOCness on both parts.**

**Disclaimer: Don't. Even. Go there. :(**

**Online!  
**

* * *

Have you ever experienced a moment in life where you cannot, for the life of you, think of what to say or how next to proceed? The feeling of utter emptiness where, it's not there because you are missing a key component of life, but only because you have no clue what the hell is supposed to be there in the first place and aren't sure where to go to get it, whatever _it_ is.

And then there's the horrible sensation of losing your voice. You could stand there, mouth wide open as if you were screaming, but not a sound would come, no matter how much you wanted it to. It's as if your vocal chords went on strike and were currently circling your liver, having bonfires and painting on picket signs with a bold 'Will not work' in red paint, or blood, or whatever the hell vocal chords use while picketing.

And then your eyes often get this blank look that shows the rest of the world just how suspended in limbo you truly are. And you mouth tends to open and close a few times before it finally keeps shut, realizing that its counterpart vocal chords are still on bloody strike.

All of the above applied to me. I was, in all forms of it, at an utter and complete loss of what I was supposed to do next.

Sure, this didn't exactly apply to my life. Either way, I would continue going to school, and hopefully graduate and get a job and work and get a good income and live peacefully, and maybe find a wife and have a family and hell, I might even move to Mexico and open a tortilla stand on some side street just to be adventurous. Life would go on, either way.

But as for what the hell I was supposed to do in the next couple of minutes before the sun really disappeared and night came swooping in for a visit, well...I had no fucking idea.

The air had grown even colder, and there was a soft breeze that most likely sent shivers through my body, but I was too busy being suspended in limbo to notice, really. Hell, my eyes were open but I wasn't seeing anything. My mind must have gone on temporary shutdown to try and take in whatever it was that had shocked me.

Hell, I couldn't even remember!

Suddenly, I felt something falling over my shoulders, and a pair of hands pushing me. And faintly, through a sea of confusion and numbness, I heard a familiar voice talking.

"...obe! It's freezing out and you're in a fucking t-shirt! You shouldn't even be outside in the first place! You've got a concussion remember!"

And then I was being herded towards the park exit, my shoes scraping against the ground at a gruellingly slow pace.

The person pushing me made many impatient noises, but they didn't click in my mind, and I did nothing to change my speed.

Finally, there came an agitated growl. "For fuck's sake, Naruto snap out of it!" someone snapped before my feet were swept out from under me.

I blinked as my head bumped softly against a firm chest even as an arm curled around my torso and legs, lifting me bridal style.

Then I was being carried away at a swift pace. I could feel the shivers of the person from the cold, but my mind was only now beginning to pull itself out of its odd swamp of confusion.

And then I was out of the park and being carried home. Well, at least my senses told me I was heading in the direction of home.

It suddenly occurred to me that I still didn't know who was carrying me. I should have known, but as my mind had gone into blank mode, and the concussion wasn't helping, I just forgot.

In my mind's eye, I saw Sakura going ape shit over this fact, shouting something like 'Don't let him have your man-babies!'

That thought made me snicker, but then it led to a chuckle, which turned to a manly giggle which just escalated rapidly until I was laughing my ass off in the person's arms.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" someone snapped.

And then everything came rushing back.

The online game.

Avenger.

The email this morning.

The meeting time and place.

Sasuke.

The shit day of school that ended halfway through due to my incident with Kabuto.

Sasuke carrying me home.

Sasuke, who was carrying me once again.

Sasuke, who was none other than Avenger.

Jiraiya had once told me long ago that when nothing made sense, or everything was too much to take in at once, I should just laugh. He said it would help me relax and take everything in better and clearer.

And so I was laughing like there was no tomorrow. Not even clowns could laugh as hard as I was, and by the way I was lowered to the floor and the sudden cold hand on my forehead, I knew I'd freaked Sasuke out completely.

And that only made me laugh even more. Tears were threatening to escape, and it was only by clamping my eyes shut tight I managed to stop them.

"Jesus, what the fuck? Naruto snap out of it! Bloody hell, get a grip dobe!" Sasuke started shaking me slightly, his voice growing a bit more frantic.

I struggled to get a hold of myself, gasping for breath and clutching onto Sasuke's shoulders.

"...T-teme!..Aahahahaha!..I-ehehehehe-I c-can't...Hahaha...Breathe!" I managed to squeak.

Sasuke stared at me, looking unsure of what he was supposed to do.

I couldn't blame him. After all, I don't think any medical guides covered what to do when someone was in danger of suffocating via laughing too hard.

"...P-Punch me!" I gasped. It was all my mind could come up with at the moment. One good, solid punch would get me back to earth and would stop my laughter.

Sasuke hesitated for only a second before pulling his hand back and landing a solid punch on my chest. It wasn't hard enough to wind me, but enough to make me grunt and stop laughing.

I sat there, leaning against the wall of a building with what I now recognized as Sasuke's jacket wrapped around my shoulders, panting and rubbing absently at the spot on my chest.

Sasuke sat back on his heels, watching me carefully and a bit warily. I must have really freaked him out.

"...Are you...okay?" he asked slowly.

I gulped some air, and nodded. "Y-yeah...I think I was just struck with a moment of insanity..."

He scoffed. "Oh, you think so? Whatever gave you that idea?" he said sarcastically and smirked in response to my glare.

"Teme! Shut up! I don't need your sarcastic bullshit!" I snapped, wincing when my head bumped the wall.

Sasuke noticed it and put his hand behind my head, blocking it from further harm. "Dobe, you shouldn't be outside in the cold at night. Let's get to your place." He said, pulling me away from the wall and forcing me to walk beside him.

I stumbled a bit at first, but managed to move.

We walked in a silence that grew more and more awkward as everything sunk in.

I had just found out that Sasuke, the guy I'd hated and complained about to my best friend Avenger was none other than said best friend, Avenger.

How the hell was that anything _but_ awkward?

And I knew Sasuke's thoughts were heading around the same thing. After all, as I thought back on our previous online conversations, I realized that a fair few times Avenger had mentioned 'an idiot in my school who is a clumsy fool and a real dobe' and I'd...oh man, I'd laughed and said that whoever that guy was, he must've been a total retard.

I had, consequentially, insulted myself all those times.

If _that_ didn't shatter someone's pride and dignity, then I must not be in the right story here.

We climbed the stairs to my apartment block and headed to my door. I unlocked it with numb fingers and pushed it open, hissing when light hit my eyes. I'd forgotten to turn the light off before leaving.

I turned, intending to close the door after Sasuke, when I finally saw his face clearly in the light.

Or more like, my eyes beheld-no they didn't _see_, they fucking _beheld_- the sight of a large bruise sitting on his right cheek, clashing horribly with his usually pale skin.

I blinked rapidly, and when the blemish did not disappear, I pointed rudely. "What the fuck happened to your face?"

Sasuke glared at my finger, which was within an inch of his nose, and I quickly withdrew it, sensing his intention to bite it off.

"...Hn. Later. Let's just get inside. It's freezing." He said.

I nodded and stepped back, letting him enter my home for the second time that day.

As soon as the door was closed and locked securely, I clambered over to my bed and collapsed down with a deep sigh as the blankets curled around me slightly, enticing me deeper into their warm depths.

The edge of the bed dipped, indicating Sasuke had taken a seat near my feet, and I hid a grimace into my pillow.

All that ran through my mind was 'what now?'

We had met. Avenger and Kyuubi had met at last. The two best friends over the internet had met, only to realize that they were two best rivals in the real world.

Sure, Sasuke had been acting a lot nicer but still! I was still, in a sense, his rival.

Not that he knew that, but whatever.

The silence from before descended again, just as awkward as ever. I could feel Sasuke shift every now and then even as I wracked my brain for something to say.

However, while my brain failed to come up with a topic, my stomach didn't.

I rolled over, intent on forcing a question out when my stomach gave a very loud, very angry growl in hunger. Heat rushed to my face and I knew my neck and ears were probably just as red as my mouth snapped shut and my eyes grew wide.

We stared at each other, Sasuke looking surprised, yet blank, and me looking pretty embarrassed.

The soft ticking of the clock was the only noise in the room until...Sasuke snorted, quickly slapping a hand over his mouth to stop any further noise, but his eyes betrayed his amusement.

I swallowed and gave a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. "Uh...oops?"

Sasuke shook his head, lowering his hand to reveal a smirk. "Hungry, dobe?"

I laughed weakly. "Yeah...I didn't eat anything except for a bun this morning..." I trailed off, my stomach giving another growl at the thought of food.

Sasuke sighed, standing up and stretching. "There's a small cafe down the road. I'll go get some food for us." He said, already reaching for his wallet. I gaped at him.

"Wait, what? No, let me come too-"

"You're supposed to rest. Stay here." He said bluntly. I scowled, sitting up.

"I'm not an invalid, dammit!"

"The way you go about things, you may very well end up as one." Sasuke countered, holding his hand out. I blinked at it.

"I thought you said I can't go?" I asked confused. Sasuke looked up at the ceiling- his current equivalent of rolling his eyes- and glared.

"No, you can't go. But it's freezing out and I need my jacket, dobe." He said matter-of-factly.

I blinked, only now remembering the warmth around my shoulders. I glanced down at the school jacket that was wrapped around me and felt my face heat up in embarrassment again.

"Oh..." I mumbled, pulling the cloth off my shoulders and placing it in his hand. He put it on and headed for the door, grabbing my keys as he went.

"I won't be long." He called and left again, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I sighed and slumped back on the bed.

"...What now?"

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I walked down the stairs that led to Naruto's apartment, the frigid air reaching me even with my jacket on. Glaring up at the sky, I noticed the heavy rainclouds gathering.

Great, there was going to be a storm.

Sighing at the horrid weather, I walked down the street at a brisk pace, my head slowly piecing everything together.

I had finally confirmed it. Uzumaki Naruto was Kyuubi.

My suspicions had been correct all along. I felt happy that I was right, but the thing that stopped my triumphant smirk was the swirling question of what we were to do now.

It was an awkward situation, without a doubt. We'd argued and fought for so long, so the knowledge that we had also been secret best friends was something confusing, and it left even me wondering where the handbook for this was.

And I already knew that, even though I was kind of his friend, outside of Shaya, now...well, like Naruto had said before. One lesson of Biology and a few good deeds doesn't change the fact that I was an asshole to him many times before then.

I cringed, thinking of all the times I'd complained about him to Kyuubi...I mean to him...but wait, that means I complained to him about himself, and he complained to me about myself, and then...gah!

Grabbing my head in frustration, I groaned. All these thoughts were giving me a headache and I really didn't need one of those now.

When the doors to the cafe I'd noticed came into view, I let my hands fall to my sides and trudged inside, scowling still.

I'd only been here a few times before, and it had been one of the strangest cafe's I'd visited. The decor was pretty normal, with tan walls, polished wooden floors and average tables here and there. The cafe had a bigger market in their take-out options than they did in the sit-down menu. No, the strange part was the employees.

I blinked when I saw the person behind the register, recognizing her as one of the constant employees. She was reading a book, a piece of pocky sticking out of her mouth and her blonde hair tied back, with short bangs framing her face.

I walked up and stood there for a bit, waiting for her to look up, but she was too engrossed with her book to notice, her hazel eyes widening as she read a particularly interesting passage.

Growing tired of being ignored-nobody ignores an Uchiha- I cleared my throat irritably, snapping her out of her reading.

She looked up at me, her face gaining a bored look. "Oh, sorry. Welcome to Cafe 99. What can I get you?" she asked, voice monotone.

I leant on the counter, glancing at the menu placed there. "...One bacon and tomato sandwich, a side of Greek salad, and..." I paused, wondering what Naruto would want.

"Naruto? The blonde kid?" the girl asked, making me blink.

"What?"

"You were thinking out loud." She smirked. I growled lowly, but it didn't deter her. She simply typed up another thing and said "He'll enjoy Miso Ramen and a can of coke."

I stared at her, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Oh? And how would you know that..." I glanced at her nametag. "...Juura-san?"

She shrugged, the pocky moving in her mouth as she spoke. "I'm usually the one serving him when he stops by, so I've come to remember what he orders the most." She printed out a slip, and waited for me to pay.

I pulled my wallet out and gave her the money, noticing the way she eyed the scrap of paper in my wallet with the words 'Kyuubi and Avenger' written on it. I'd kept the bit since I found the paper that day, mainly as a reminder.

Somehow, seeing someone else look at it made me embarrassed, and I scowled to cover the slight heat in my cheeks.

Juura blinked at me, a smirk forming on her face before she turned around, heading through the kitchen doors. I could hear her voice clearly as she shouted out to the chef.

"Hey Kao! Get me a blushing pig in a blanket, a side for a rabbit, one cancer in a bowl and a liquid drug!" she called.

"Okay, got it, now get the fuck out of my kitchen!" the chef, Kao, called back, and I heard what sounded like a knife thudding into a doorframe just as Juura re-emerged, looking grumpy.

"Bloody red-haired jerk. Stupid...I should fire him..." she grumbled.

I smirked and stood off to the side to wait, while Juura returned to her book, still muttering obscenities to the chef under her breath.

The wait wasn't that long, and soon a red-haired boy with bright green eyes walked out, carrying a large take away bag and placing it on the counter.

"Here you go. Bacon and tomato sandwhich, salad, miso ramen, and a can of coke. All packed and ready to go." He said smiling. I nodded my thanks and grabbed the bag, turning and walking quickly out of the shop, but not before I heard the guy say "Oh? Juura, you read Icha Icha Yaoi Paradise? That's a bit advanced for you, don't you think? I've only gotten to chapter three, myself."

Shaking my head at the strange staff of the place I hurried back towards Naruto's house, still wondering what we could say to each other.

'Hey, nice to meet you, even though we've met before.'

No, that didn't sound quite right.

Hmm...what about 'It's nice seeing that my rival is also my best friend! Let's have a fight and then complain about it to each other online later.'

...Ha ha. That's funny.

_Not_.

Sighing for what must've been the millionth time that day, I climbed the stairs and made my way back towards his door.

When I got there, I shouldered the door open and stepped inside, greeted with the empty silence of the house. It washed over me like a wave, and I realized how horrid it must be for Naruto to sit in this house, all alone most of the time. The emptiness would get overwhelming.

The thought of Naruto sitting by himself, all alone and sad, made my chest ache painfully. He was such a vibrant, happy person with the most brilliant smile I'd ever seen...someone like that shouldn't be left alone to wallow in empty sadness and solitude.

Something crossed my mind, a thought that sent a chill across my spine. Naruto never had anyone to come home to. No one to welcome him back.

I internally groaned at what I was about to do. I must be going soft.

"...I'm back!" I called, and I held in a smirk when I heard the surprised squeak from the kitchen area. Slipping off my shoes, I looked up to see Naruto peek up from over the counter. His eyes were wide as they stared at me, almost as if I was a ghost.

I stared back, allowing a small smirk to form. "..Dobe, I said I'm back."

Naruto started, standing up. "Uh...um...W-welcome ho-back! Welcome back!" he corrected, his cheeks dusting red.

My smirk faltered for just a second before it was back full force. But inside my head, I was confused. Why had the word home...sounded so inviting just then? Surely that wasn't right. I had a home already, and I was barely close enough to Naruto to call his house a second home.

I snapped out of my thoughts when Naruto came around the counters. He had changed into some grey sweats and large orange t-shirt that hung low on his shoulders. It was close to slipping off the one.

I swallowed, feeling something warm spread through my being as he walked closer, eyes on the bag in my hand and sparkling with eagerness.

"What did you get?" he asked, motioning to the small bag. I held it out.

"Miso ramen and a coke for you. The sandwich and salad is mine." I said, trying not to smirk at the look of surprise and delight on his face.

Naruto snatched the bag away, grinning and shuffled over to the bed, giggling like a mad man. I followed, shaking my head at his weirdness.

We ate in silence...well, I did. Naruto slurped his noodles with vigour, and the wet smacking sounds he made were more than enough to make me grimace.

I turned away after he'd taken three slurps, focusing on my sandwich and not the sounds he made.

"That was delicious."

My head snapped to the side, only to see him sitting with an empty ramen bowl. My eyes widened a fraction.

"...You're finished?" I asked in disbelief. He nodded, smiling contentedly.

I shook my head at his speed of eating. "..Dobe."

He blinked, looking surprised for a split second before his face scrunched up in anger, his brows furrowing together and his cheeks puffing out.

He looked...cute.

"Teme! I'm not a dobe!" he yelled, his cheeks going a bit red in his anger.

I just smirked, even as my inner self was ranting about how adorable he looked. I really needed to find an off switch for that little thing.

But Naruto calmed down, or more, he lost the motive to fight me. He opened his mouth, looking ready to scream my ear off, when suddenly he paused, gaining a confused look before he sighed, deflating.

I raised my eyebrow at the odd change in behaviour. It wasn't like him to give up on a fight like that.

"Naruto?" I asked, putting my half eaten sandwich to the side and turning to face him. He looked really confused, I almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

"...I can't...I don't know what to do." He admitted, shrugging and looking pretty helpless.

"What do you mean?"

"With us! With this whole situation... I mean, it's awesome that you're Avenger! But...you're also Uchiha Sasuke, the guy who used to pick on me in middle school. How am I supposed to react knowing one of my best friends was also one of the biggest jerks to me on the planet?" he ranted, waving his hands around.

I scoffed. "Thanks a lot for that. And I can't help you there; I'm just as clueless as to what we should do now."

He gaped. "You don't know what to do? _The_ Uchiha Sasuke is clueless?" he asked in horror. Before I could blink he was throwing the covers over himself, and burrowing under his pillows.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to stay here while the world ends. If I have to die, I want to at least die warm and comfortable." His muffled voice answered.

I scoffed, reaching over and smacking the lump that was Naruto under the blankets. He let out a strangled yelp and wiggled away, his head poking out from the covers to give me a blue-eyed glare.

"Don't smack my ass you pervert!" he yelled.

I sneered. "Don't be an ass then."

He growled, looking around until his eyes fell on my food. He smirked, and quick as a bullet, reached out and snatched it before climbing back into the covers.

"Now you shall starve!" he called triumphantly.

I rolled my eyes-since he couldn't see it- and edged over to the lump. I remembered from one of our online conversations that he had mentioned he was ticklish.

Smirking, I began poking the sides of the lump, repeating the action until the sound of badly suppressed laughter reached my ears.

"Give me my food, usuratonkachi."

"Aha! N-No! Haha! Ah, stop! Ehe!" Naruto writhed under the blankets, snorting and squeaking as I poked and prodded, searching for those special spots that would get a reaction. **(1)**

"Ah! No not there!" Naruto yelled, laughing loudly as he kicked the blankets off and scrambled away from me. Since he still held my food captive, I followed him, walking to the other end of the bed just as he got there and renewing my attack. My fingers drummed over his sides, under his arm, and then the back of his neck, making him gasp and chuckle, squirming.

"S-stop! Ahaha! I-I've got a c-concu-aahaha-concussion!" he gasped when I found a particularly sensitive spot on his neck.

"Give me back my food and I'll stop." I informed him, smirking when he let out a high pitched squeak when I tickled the back of his neck again.

"Ahaha! A-alright, alright! Here!" he shoved my sandwich at me and scrambled away, grabbing the covers and wrapping them around himself protectively while I sat down, smirking with my victory.

"See, dobe? If you had just listened to me, then you wouldn't have been tortured." I stated, taking another bite.

Naruto scoffed. "Yes, of course. Let me just mindlessly follow the orders of someone who attacks me. That sounds perfectly logical."

"Was that sarcasm?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Am I a girl?" Naruto retorted, sneering.

"After that squeal, I'm no longer sure." I grinned wickedly as he went red, both from anger and embarrassment.

"B-Bastard!"

"Hn."

He glared at me while I ate calmly, watching him from the corner of my eyes. When I did nothing more, he huffed and crossed his arms, looking away with narrow eyes and a pout.

I finished off my food quickly, scrunching up the paper wrapping and throwing it easily into the wastebasket.

"Score." I said to no one in particular.

Naruto gave me an odd look, and I just shrugged. "I can be random at times." I said calmly.

He kept silent, looking at his hands.

That horrible, most horrible, awkward silence from before decided to drop by again. The soft ticking of the clock nearby seemed almost mocking to me, and I glared at it.

Naruto was staring at his hands and biting his lip, looking all the more uncomfortable.

I wanted to sigh in exasperation. During the tickle-attack, things had reverted ever so slightly back to normal. We had done something that friends do, and I had thought things might loosen up after that, but now... Why wasn't he saying anything?

It was as if there was this wall between us all of a sudden, and quite frankly I hated it. When we had not known each other's identities, we were the best of friends, despite a few arguments once in a while.

Kyuubi was my best friend. And Naruto was Kyuubi. Hence, Naruto was my best friend. That was my conclusion, but it seemed that Naruto couldn't feel the same way.

I realized that, of course, our past...the past of Naruto and Sasuke, could make things a bit uncomfortable. I had made his life a bit of a misery before, back when I followed the crowd and teased him like everyone else.

Was that it? Was that the reason Naruto was struggling to accept our friendship? Was the past holding him back?

I looked over to him, studying him carefully. He looked distant, lost in thought.

Lost in memories.

I sighed, out loud this time, and stood up, gaining his attention. "Sasuke?"

I walked over to his side of the bed and held out my hand. He stared at it questioningly before glancing at me, waiting for an explanation.

I cleared my throat and explained. "Look, I know that this whole situation is a bit confusing, for obvious reasons, so I think that right now, the best thing to do is to start over. Forget the past, forget the online friendship. We'll try this the proper way now." I took a breath and offered him a small smile. "Hi, my name is Uchiha Sasuke. Want to be friends?"

Naruto gaped up at me, his eyes wide. He looked at my offered hand, then back up to my face. Finally, after a few moments of contemplation, he smiled and took my hand, shaking it.

"Sure. Hello Sasuke, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. It's nice to meet you."

I nodded and sat back down.

The air in the room was lighter now, and Naruto seemed more comfortable.

I knew we couldn't really forget everything, but we could at least try to do this properly.

Whatever happened next would happen, and I could only hope it was something good.

"...So Sasuke, since we're starting over, think you can stop calling me dobe?" Naruto asked happily.

I smirked. "Not a chance in hell dobe."

"Teme!"

* * *

**(1) -Naruto writhed under the blankets**, snorting and squeaking **as I poked and prodded**, **searching for** **(that)** those **special spot**s **that would get a reaction.- See it? Come on it's as plain as day. When I reread the sentence, I kind of went 'huh? Cool! Hidden Yaoi!'**

**Also, I'm sure you noticed my self-inclusion. Before you freak out, no I'm not going to appear in this story repeatedly. That was just a bit of randomness. HEhe, Cafe 99. If you saw it coming then, I salute you.  
**

**Hahah, my randomness.**

**This chapter was...awkward to write, let me tell you. I tried to picture myself in that situation, placing my mind in that sort of moment, to see how I would react, and honestly, that was it.**

**I couldn't think of what I would do. What do you say when you find out your best-online-friend used to be, or is, your worst enemy in the real world. What do you say to them after that, since now you know you hate them and like them too! It poses one hell of an awkward moment!**

**So yeah, a few gay children were born.**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

**Also, people... It's getting close to Naruto-chan's Birthday(October 10th!) So start writing BIRTHDAY FICS!**

**Haha, just reminding you.**


	13. Chapter 13

**OMFG! I am sooo sorry this took soooo bloody long, but DAMMIT I'm so distracted right now!**

***sighs* And there are good distractions and bad distractions. School work, and stuff is taking up time. Also I got the Left 4 Dead game(again) and have been venting frustrations by slaughtering some zombie bitches...and then there's the boyfriend...sigh...He's really sweet(my first real boyfriend) and I really like him...but...he's kind of smothering me now. He says 'I love you' at least five times in one sentence, and at first it was sweet and lovely,...now it's getting a bit...I dunno...false? Or it seems like that's all he can really think of saying to me? ..I dunno...it doesn't help that it's a long distance relationship... *sighs* sorry for ranting about my love life...or lack of one I suppose.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. It's kind of a mediator chapter...the next one will start focusing on the next plot point, and this gives you a hint of it. And don't worry, there will be more SasuNaru-ness in future chapters. The love is coming!**

**...yeah, I can't think of anything else to say other than read, enjoy and leave a review cause they work wonders for the distracted mind.**

**Online!  
**

* * *

The sound of someone shifting around nearby was what managed to pull me from my pleasant sleep. When my eyes opened, they were assaulted with the sight of the wall, making blink and wonder why I was on this side of my bed. Usually I edged towards the other side.

The shifting came again, the subtle sound of cloth brushing against skin and the soft huffs as someone adjusted buttons or sleeves.

I froze, my eyes widening as the realization that someone was in my apartment truly hit me.

I held back my gasp, and went rigid, hoping the intruder didn't notice. Thoughts of burglars, rapists, and murderers flooded my mind, and I felt my body break out in a cold sweat.

The intruder cleared their throat before stepping away a bit. The sound of a bag being explored reached my ears, and it struck me that this was my chance. If I could get past this person and out my front door, then I could go next door to Kiba and hopefully get some help.

Just as I was ready to look for something to use as a weapon, the footsteps came closer and I froze.

I sensed the hand approaching my shoulder before it clamped down, and I panicked.

With a yell, I threw the covers at the person, my fist following as I attempted to get out of the bed at the same time. I managed to hit something, and got off the bed.

However, as I was heading towards the door, a familiar voice spoke out.

"Ow, what the fuck!"

I skidded to a halt, my head snapping around and my jaw dropping at the sight that greeted me.

Sasuke was sprawled on the floor, one hand clutching his nose and the other tugging blankets off of his body. His eyes were screwed shut in pain, and he was wearing his school uniform.

There, on the floor next to my bed were some neatly folded nightclothes.

Upon seeing the garments, my memories flooded back of the previous night which I had, unfortunately, forgotten in my moment of panic.

* * *

_I looked at the clock on my bedside and blinked. "It's already ten!"_

_Sasuke looked over, his face tightening. "Shit, I was supposed to be home already."_

_I looked over at him, and then out my window, seeing the dark sky as well as the rain splattering against the windows. "You can't walk home now...what do you want to do?"_

_He shook his head, already reaching for his cell phone. He flipped it open and dialled a number before holding it loosely to his ear._

_I could hear the sounds of ringing from where I sat, right across from him on the bed. Soon, the phone was picked up and I heard a man's voice answer._

"_Hello, this is Itachi speaking."_

"_Itachi, can you come fetch me please?" Sasuke asked, running a hand through his hair. I rocked where I sat, watching and listening with interest as the man spoke._

"_Fetch you? Where are you, little brother?" the guy, Itachi, sounded a bit amused. Sasuke scowled into the phone._

"_At a friend's house, now can you please-"_

"_A friend's house? How wonderful!" Itachi exclaimed, sounding falsely excited. Suddenly, his voice became slightly distant, indicating he was facing away from the phone and calling to someone else. "Mother! Sasuke says he's going to spend the night at a friend's house!"_

"_Wha-No! Itachi you bastard, come fetch-"_

"_Mother says she's so happy you've finally made friends. Have a nice evening Sasuke. Behave yourself and make sure to use protection-"_

_Sasuke slammed the phone shut and shoved it back into his bag, looking murderous. _

_I watched him silently, holding in any smart ass comments, seeing as he was likely to rip my head off and shove it down my toilet should I dare to do so._

_After giving him a second to cool down, I cleared my throat and smiled. "Looks like you're spending the night, teme. Unfortunately, I don't have spare sheets or anything, so you'll have to share the bed. Is that okay?"_

_He sighed, running a hand through his hair again and nodding. "Yeah, that's fine. Sorry about this. My brother's an asshole." He added, glaring at nothing._

_I chuckled and stood up, going over to my wardrobe and pulling out some nightclothes for him to wear. "Well, I guess you learnt from the best then?"_

_Sasuke no longer glared at nothing. He glared at me. "Shut up dobe."_

"_Make me teme!"

* * *

_

I gasped, running over and kneeling down, apologies sprouting out of my mouth like daises on a sunny hilltop.

"Sasuke! Oh shit, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it was you and I just-ugh, are you okay? Is your nose bleeding? Oh God, do _you_ have a concussion now? Oh man, I'm so, so sorry! Please forgive me, I'm sorry, and I promise to make it up to you-"

Sasuke finally got the blankets off them and chose to take revenge by throwing them at my face, successfully cutting off my apologetic ranting. He sat up, using one hand to prop himself up and the other hand massaging his nose.

"You usuratonkachi." He groaned while I struggled to get the blanket off of my head.

"Oh Sasuke! You're okay and I-_ew_, this blanket tastes like ass, I need to wash it- I'm so sorry about hitting you, but I got a fright and-oh that tastes _gross_- I just panicked. Are you sure you're okay?" I finished, wiping my tongue with my fingers to get rid of the ass-blanket taste.

Seriously that thing was _nasty_!

Sasuke just blinked at me. "...I think that you lost the majority of your sanity when you hit your head." He said after a time, moving his hand away. His nose was still a bit red, and it would likely leave some kind of bruise, but at least it wasn't bleeding or broken.

I pouted-in a manly way, mind you- and crossed my arms. "I'm just trying to say sorry."

"It's okay." He sighed, sitting straighter.

I looked back at him, taking in his appearance. "Were you about to leave for school?"

He nodded, and held up a key, which turned out to be my house key. "I was going to tell you that I would slide the key under the door once I locked it...but, as you can tell, that didn't go quite as planned." He finished dryly.

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

He shook his head, standing up and pulling me to my feet too. "It's no issue. You hit like a girl anyway, so no damage was done." He smirked.

Oh that little son of a gherkin! How dare he deny my manliness!

"Teme! I do not hit like a girl, dammit! I can take you on any day!" I said loudly, holding up a fist to show.

Sasuke tilted his head up in that way that was so condescending and superior. "Oh really? I highly doubt that, dobe." He said, voice low.

I growled and ran towards him, ready to give him a bloody nose for daring to look down on me like that. As I swung my fist forwards, Sasuke moved to the right, his hand shooting out and wrapping firmly around my wrist before he tugged.

When he had moved, I had been heading straight for the wall, but when he pulled my arm I veered off to the side and stumbled, tripping over the blanket on the floor and lading with a grunt onto my bed.

Sasuke chuckled behind me, and when I glared at him over my shoulder he was dusting his hands off, smirking like he'd just solved the problem of the meaning of life.

"You asshole." I growled.

"It's not my fault you've got no sense of balance." He retorted, reaching down and grabbing his bag. "Lock up after me, dobe. I'll see you another time."

I sighed, giving him a wave and flopping back down. As he neared the doorway, a thought occurred to me and I grinned. "Hey teme!"

He paused, looking back at me over his shoulder. "Hn?"

"See you online tonight?"

Sasuke blinked, before a slow and barely visible smile spread over his face. "Sure thing." He said, and left with a wave of his hand, closing the door behind him as he went.

I smiled and lay back, getting comfortable.

Starting over again had been a good choice. We still fought, but we wouldn't be us if we didn't. Even as Avenger and Kyuubi we had fought.

I rolled over, staring up at the ceiling. I knew things wouldn't be easy, with sunflowers and rainbows and sparkly pink unicorns with golden horns. It would take us some time to adjust to this.

Although considering the fact that Sasuke had been nicer to me right before we met, I suppose it wouldn't be all that hard in the end. Just as long as he doesn't become the ultra ass he used to be again, then I could easily see us being close friends.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I was tired, and it's not like I had school to worry about, so a nap would be nice.

Sleep came easily.

* * *

The week passed by quickly, the rest I was getting helping me to heal nicely. It also made me very lazy.

Friday rolled around to find me sleeping in once again. After a very late night of playing Shaiya and speaking to both Kiba and Sasuke and, much to my surprise, Shikamaru who revealed himself, I was pretty exhausted in the morning, seeing as I only decided to sleep when the sun came up.

There was a pleasant silence in my apartment, with only the soft ticking of my clock that lulled me into a half sleep as I lay in the warmth of my blankets. The curtains were closed, but a sliver of bright sunlight cut through, illuminating a slice of the wall and a section of my hair, making it shine.

I mumbled, my eyes closing fully and I turned around, my back facing the window and the door.

I must have drifted in and out of sleep several times, as when I was next vaguely aware of my surroundings, I could feel the sliver of sunlight on the back of my head, indicating the sun had moved its position in the sky as the day wore on.

I gave a sigh; still feeling exhausted and let my eyes drift shut. I wasn't fully asleep, but there were visions in my mind that felt like dreams.

A soft, feather light touch landed on my arm and drifted down, sliding along my elbow before disappearing right before it reached my hand. I twitched, but dismissed it. My body often got little shivers or chills, so I passed this off as nothing.

It happened again, running down my leg this time and disappearing before reaching my ankle. My eyebrow's furrowed and I shifted again, wondering if perhaps some sort of insect had made its way into my home and was crawling over me. Not entirely pleased with that idea, I shifted and turned over, squinting my closed eyes to try and stop the sudden burst of light. The sun was right on my eyelids. Groaning softly, I squinted more, but to no avail.

Suddenly the light vanished, and I relaxed, thinking perhaps a cloud had covered the sun. I was grateful for the reprieve.

The feather touch returned, this time on my cheek. I scowled and swung my hand up, hitting my cheek.

I was met with a hand that didn't belong to me.

Have you ever had a moment where something happens, which is pretty damn horrifying, and causes you to freeze, your brain actually shutting down for a moment to process what the fuck was happening so that your body could respond correctly and high tail it out of there?

No? You haven't? Really?

Well then you're either incredibly lucky, or you've got no bloody life.

For a moment, I stayed still, feeling the gloved fingers under mine, before my mind caught up with the fact that someone else's hand was on my cheek.

With a gasp, I snapped my eyes open, but the person moved just then and the sun hit me, making me wince and cry out. I shut my eyes again, and started shifting back to get away, but the hand moved from my cheek and up to my hair, grabbing it roughly and pulling me forwards. I gasped and tried to open my eyes again, but they had positioned my head so that the sun was directly there, and no matter which direction I looked at, it would remain there.

"No! W-who are you!" I yelled, struggling against the hand holding me. My legs flailed and twisted, getting caught in my sheets and I cursed, my free arm shooting out and making a fist as I tried to hit whoever was there.

A chuckle was heard and I froze out of pure shock and fear. It was..._him_.

"You're so lively. I can hardly wait to see how much writhing you'll be doing while I'm fucking you into your mattress." A voice said. It was whispered, and the tone and pitch changed, keeping me from possibly recognizing who it belonged to.

I won't deny it this time. I whimpered. Just a little bit.

But come on, you can't blame me can you? Here I was, sleeping peacefully in my apartment and then I wake up to find some perverted freak talking to me this way! Anyone would let out a few unmanly noises!

Not that they were unmanly... They were very manly whimpers!

"W-who are y-you?" I whispered. Somehow, the thought of screaming for help didn't seem appealing. It wouldn't do me any good anyway.

No one would come.

The intruder laughed, a hollow sound that made shivers run down my back as if someone had run an ice cube down my spine.

"I'm the one who's going to fuck your brains out when the time comes. Don't worry; you'll enjoy it completely, so you should be excited." The hand in my hair tightened and I gasped again.

"No! W-Why are you doing this?" I squeaked, when the intruder leant forwards and bit my neck, sucking harshly for a minute or so while I struggled. Then they pulled away and I could hear the smirk in their voice as they spoke.

"Because I can."

There was a pressure on my neck, and everything blacked out.

* * *

A loud knock sounded and I sat up so fast everything swam before my eyes. I cried out, slapping a hand over my eyes as the room tilted and I felt myself tipping to the side.

"Naruto!"

Before I could truly fall out of my bed, a pair of arms caught me and pushed me back, keeping me steady. A familiar and comforting scent of cherries reached my nose and I sighed, sinking into the embrace.

"Thanks Sakura-chan." I murmured, cracking an eye open and waiting for my vision to focus on her worried face. She was wearing a pretty red tank top with a blossom stitched into the side and a pair of tight blue jeans that accentuated her legs nicely. Her lips were painted red and there was a hint of pink eye shadow and thick black eyeliner. "You look really pretty." I commented, smiling.

Appreciation flashed in her eyes, but it wasn't enough to get rid of the worry in her face.

"Are you feeling okay? What happened? Why were you dizzy?" she asked, placing a cool hand on my forehead. I sighed and closed my eyes, thinking back to try and remember.

"_Because I can._"

The words rang in my head, making my eyes snap open and a gasp escape me. I scrambled out of my bed, almost knocking Sakura onto her backside. I gave a rushed apology and ducked into the bathroom, heading to the mirror above my still shattered sink.

I lifted my head and strained to look at my neck, searching for any marks anywhere.

There were none.

I melted with relief and sunk to the ground, placing my head in my hands.

"It was just a dream...thank God." I muttered, and chuckled softly.

"Naruto?" Sakura came up and sat beside me, her eyes shining with worry. I gave her what I hoped was a disarming smile.

"I'm okay. I just had a really vivid nightmare." I said, rubbing my neck where I'd dreamt the person had bitten me. I was shaking slightly as the cold from the tile wall seeped through my undershirt and into my skin.

Sakura made an understanding sound and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me to get me to my feet and leading me back to my bed. "Do you want to maybe stay home tonight instead?" she asked.

I turned to her, confused. "Huh?"

"I'm saying should we forget about the movie tonight?" Sakura clarified.

Well...that's what she probably thought she did. I stared at her for a few minutes, trying desperately to gain the ability to translate the undoubtedly difficult ways of women before I gave up.

"What in the name of Ramen are you talking about?" I asked, shaking my head a bit in confusion.

Sakura leant back, frowning. "We planned to go to a movie tonight. I planned this on Wednesday, and told Kiba...He didn't tell you did he!" Sakura suddenly shouted, making me wince at the volume.

"Tell me what?"

"I told Kiba to tell you that I wanted us to go to see that really weird, but funny movie tonight! That idiot forgot!" Sakura explained, glaring at my wall in the direction she knew Kiba's room to be. I was surprised, but grateful, that she didn't burn a hole through the plaster.

I chuckled and rubbed my head, also turning to look at the wall. "I'm sure he didn't intend to do it."

Sakura growled and held up a finger, which I knew was her way of saying 'Wait here, move and you die.'

So I stayed still while she went to the door and yanked it open, not bothering to close it. I could hear her knocking on Kiba's door fiercely, and inwardly I winced.

Poor Kiba.

I heard the door open and then Hana, Kiba's older sister spoke up. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm looking for Kiba?"

"Okay, hang on." I knew Hana turned around by the shout she gave next. "KIBBLES! SOMEONE'S HERE FOR YOUR ASS! GET OUT HERE!"

I snickered at the nickname, knowing I'd had the pleasure of causing it. Sure enough, I heard Kiba grumbling as he came out.

"Oh, hey Sakura."

I heard Sakura grab the dog-lover by his collar (puns wtf!) and drag him through my door, ignoring his protests, wrinkling his favourite t-shirt which depicted a large dog drinking a can of beer and eating a bone.

"Ouch! What the hell?" he yelled, ripping away from her and glaring.

"You idiot! You didn't tell Naruto about that movie!" Sakura accused, pointed a pink coloured fingernail at him.

Kiba blinked before turning to me. "Naruto, we're going to see a movie today." He said, and then turned back t Sakura, smirking. "There, I told him."

I laughed loudly while Sakura growled and grabbed Kiba, shaking him and shouting insults at him. My hand came up to rub at my throat again, and I stopped laughing slowly, feeling the spot. The dream had seemed so real and it was creeping me out. Especially since I'd gotten two freaky letters, gotten molested in the bathroom, and then stalked by some hooded guy.

Shuddering at those less than lovely memories, I swallowed and looked down.

Somehow...I had a bad feeling about the future.

"You're such an idiot Kiba!"

"Ouch! Let go of me you violent beast you!"

I gulped and crawled back into my bed, hiding under the covers. "It was nice knowing you Kiba!" I called from under the safety of my duvet.

I heard Kiba's squeak, and felt the dark aura flooding my room as his doom approached on swift wings. Just as I was expecting to hear the sound of bones being crushed beneath some serious heels, there was a cough and a sigh of "Troublesome people."

I poked my head out, looking at my doorway to see Sasuke and Shikamaru standing there, watching Sakura slowly kill Kiba with her fingernail on his temple.

"Sasuke! Shikamaru!" I greeted happily, grinning at them. They looked up, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at me. Undoubtedly I looked a bit odd, being just a head out of the covers.

"What are you hiding from dobe?" he asked.

I gave him a look that said 'You're kidding, right?' and motioned towards Sakura with my head. He blinked before smirking.

"You're afraid of a girl?" he asked teasingly.

Both Kiba and I replied at the same time.

"No, only Sakura-chan."

"No, only this she-devil."

"Kiba, do you want to die?" I asked, sighing as Sakura started strangling him. Kiba only made a garbled noise in response, seeing as he was unable to form words due to the sharp nails digging into his neck.

Sasuke smirked at his predicament and stepped inside, walking over to the bed and sitting down. He was dressed in a sleek blue button up, the sleeves rolled up and bunched at his elbows. On the back was a large, red and black embroidered dragon breathing fire, and underneath, written in Kanji, were the words 'Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu'. Black jeans with a black and red belt and a pair of black converse ended the outfit. I had to admit he looked pretty good.

"So, are we going to this movie or what?" he asked Sakura. She turned to him, smiling slightly even as Kiba turned a new shade of blue.

"Well I want to, but..." she looked at me, worry creasing her face. "Naruto...are you feeling up for it? We can go another time if you're feeling ill." she asked.

I blinked and chuckled. "Sakura-chan, it was just a dream, nothing serious! We can go. It sounds like fun." I said, crawling out the blankets.

Sakura beamed, finally letting go of Kiba, who gasped and scrambled away, hiding behind Shikamaru.

"She's evil!" he squeaked. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"And you're troublesome. Let go of my shoulder." He replied.

Sasuke and I snorted at the two while Sakura started digging through my clothes. "Everyone get out, while Naruto gets dressed." She called.

The other three shared a look before staring at her, and Kiba spoke up first.

"Uh...should you be the one to get out? We're all guys, and you're a girl...so..." he trailed off, knowing the rest of his reasoning was pretty obvious.

Sakura sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "I've known Naruto a lot longer than you, and believe it or not, I've seen it all already." She ignored my shriek of "What?" and glared at the others. "Besides, I want to make him look great, and you can't see it until it's done. Now out." She ordered, shooing them with her hands.

Sasuke sent me a look that said 'what is she anyway?' and I just sighed and motioned for him to leave too. He did so, but not before giving Sakura a pretty dark look.

Once everyone was out, Sakura slammed the door and turned to me, grinning. "Alright! Let's begin!" she said.

I shrank back, not liking the little gleam in her sea-foam green eyes.

"...Have mercy?" I said weakly, to which Sakura laughed before striding over and beginning the torture.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I leant against the railing, right opposite Naruto's doorway and stared at the wood. We could hear some of the talking, especially when Naruto yelped and cried "Sakura-chan that's weird! Don't put it there!"

I held in a growl and looked upwards instead. The thought of that pink haired girl touching Naruto in any sort of intimate way made my blood begin to boil. I knew it was stupid, and that she was only a close friend, but still.

It made me angry.

Shikamaru, ever the observant one, sighed. "Sasuke, stop glaring into the sky. We need our ozone layer, you know." He said.

I turned to glare at him instead, wishing his dark green shirt with the words 'Smart enough to know better, too lazy to actually care' in cream splashed across. It suited him perfectly.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm expendable. My death won't result in the death of the world." He reasoned, meeting my glare easily.

Smartass.

Kiba was looking between us, his eyes lingering on me for a moment before turning to Shikamaru.

"So...why are you guys coming?" He asked after a long silence.

I turned to stare at him. "Sakura invited us."

Kiba huffed, crossing his arms. "She's probably just doing it to annoy me." He muttered. I scoffed and turned back to the door just as it opened.

Sakura stepped out, looking quite pleased with herself, at which I had to hold in another growl.

"Come on Naruto! Let's go!" she called and stepped to the side.

"Alright, alright...sheesh." Naruto huffed as he stepped out, and for a moment my brain ceased functioning.

He was dressed in a tight fitting orange beater, a dark black swirl located on the navel and flame patterns licking up the sides. His black jacket had small metal swirls for zippers, and there was an orange flame-like design on the back (the ANBU symbol). His navy blue jeans were ripped at the knees and frayed at the end, and several chains adorned the sides. Finishing the look was a pair of black converse, like mine, and a necklace with an aquamarine crystal pendant.

Naruto locked his door and turned to face us fully; showing the tiny amount of black eyeliner Sakura had undoubtedly forced him to wear.

Shikamaru was smirking next to me, and he reached over, slapping a hand under my jaw. I flinched at the resounding-at least to me- clack that proved my mouth had been hanging open. Glaring at him from the corner of my eyes, I crossed my arms and huffed.

"Not bad dobe. You actually look decent for once."

Bad mouth! Bad mouth! Why do you always have to betray me so? Can't you say something nice for once in your existence!

Sure enough, Naruto glared at me, the blue eyes seeming to stand out due to the eyeliner.

"Shut up teme! You're just jealous since I look better than you!" he retorted.

I scoffed, but kept my mouth shut. There was no way I'd let the little traitor make it worse.

Sakura beamed at us and turned towards the stairs. "Let's go! To the theatre!" she called, grabbing Naruto's arm and dragging him forwards.

I followed swiftly, my eyes fixed on the pink nailed hands on Naruto's arm.

I won't deny it...I wanted to cut those fingers off.

A hand on my shoulder made me look back to see Shikamaru, his face stern.

"Sasuke...you've only recently become his friend. It's way too soon to be thinking of anything more. Don't screw it up." He said lowly, so that only I could hear.

I grit my teeth but nodded.

"Ah, I know." I said just as lowly, and Shikamaru retracted his hand.

The rest of the walk was filled with idle chatter between Naruto, Kiba and Sakura, and a few short phrases from Shikamaru and I.

We arrived at the cinema just as the sun was setting, and Sakura divided us with different jobs.

"Kiba and I will get the tickets, Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru can go get the food. We'll meet up before going in." She said, already pulling Kiba away despite his pleas for mercy.

Naruto, Shikamaru and I shared a look before turning and heading to the snack counter.

"That couch looks nice." Shikamaru said and he stepped off to the side, leaving me and Naruto alone in the line. We both sent him glares, but he shrugged and lay down anyway.

"Geez...I never imagined him to be this lazy." Naruto grumbled. I nodded.

"I was surprised at first."

We moved forwards a bit, Naruto staring up at the menu boards and pointing out all the things he wanted to get.

"And then should we get two large popcorns to share, or five small ones for each of us?" He asked, turning those dazzling blue eyes to me. I looked at the prices and sighed.

"Two large ones. It's cheaper."

Naruto nodded and turned back to the menu. "What sort of sweets do you want? I know Sakura-chan likes winegums and Kiba enjoys milk-bones..." he said, cupping his chin in thought.

"I don't like sweets." I said. I was almost knocked off my feet when he spun around and grabbed my shoulders.

"WHAT?" he screeched in shock. I hissed and slapped a hand over his mouth when people started staring.

"Shut up dobe! You're too noisy!" I whispered harshly. He huffed against my hand and I pulled it back.

"How can you not like sweets?" he demanded, incredulous. I sighed again and shoved my hands in my pockets.

"I just don't. They're too sweet and make me feel sick."

Naruto just stared at me, mouth agape. I reached up and tapped it closed, hearing the clack of his teeth. "Don't gape, it makes you look retarded." I said.

He glared. "Teme."

"Dobe."

"Baka."

"Usuratonkachi."

"Asshole."

"Idiot."

"Jerk-face!"

"Loser!"

We were nose to nose, glaring and hissing insults. Some of the customers around us were staring and snickering. I could feel Shikamaru's gaze on me, but I didn't care. This was a challenge, and I was _so not_ backing down.

"_Smart_ass!"

"_Dumb_ass!"

"Prick!"

"Wuss!"

"Nerd!"

"Is that the best you can do?" I smirked. Naruto growled, his right hand fisting my shirt while I fisted his. Our noses bumped as we glared at each other.

"I can take you on any day." He declared. I let my smirk grow.

"Is that a challenge?" I asked lowly, straightening up so that I was taller than him. I loved the few extra inches I had on him.

He clenched his fist harder in my shirt, baring his teeth.

The crowd was starting to shift nervously, wondering if we'd break out into a fight. I was still smirking and Naruto was still snarling.

Then, he grinned. "Alright then! We'll see who can eat the most popcorn throughout the movie!" he declared, letting go of my shirt and smoothing it out for me, while I did the same.

The crowd breathed a sigh of relief while Naruto grinned and I smirked. I heard Shikamaru mutter 'troublesome' but ignored him.

"So, we're having an eating contest?" I clarified as the line moved forward. Naruto nodded vigorously, already pulling out his money.

"We'll buy a large popcorn for Sakura, Kiba and Shikamaru to share. Sakura-chan doesn't eat a lot, and something tells me Shikamaru won't either. Then, me and you will buy a large box each, and if we run out, we can buy more. Whoever has eaten the most boxes by the end wins." He explained, gesturing the whole time.

I nodded, looking forward to the challenge. While eating wasn't exactly my idea of a fight, it was still a competition with Naruto, and I was planning on winning.

"Bring it on, Dobe."

"Oh, I intend to Teme."

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I stumbled out into the cool night air and headed straight for the wall, leaning heavily against it and placing a hand gingerly on my stomach.

"I feel like I'm about to burst." I groaned. The sound of someone retching made me look up, and I grimaced at the sight of Sasuke bent over the nearest garbage can.

"You guys are so troublesome." Shikamaru said as he rubbed Sasuke on the back, helping to ease the pain. Kiba laughed the whole time, until Sakura smacked him across the back of the head. She turned to glare at me.

"What were you guys thinking? Sure, eat popcorn if you will. But why did you start buying other foods? And on top of that, you started mixing weird things together! I mean..." she grimaced, "Hot dogs with ketchup, cheese and chocolate kisses? And then drinking coke with cream soda, chocolate milkshake and coffee drops?" she shuddered while I turned a new shade of green and Sasuke's retching was renewed.

"Maybe we did take it a bit far..." I mumbled. Sasuke stopped his retching and looked at me over his shoulder.

"Dobe...you're the one...who started it..." he breathed, before turning away again.

I smiled sheepishly. "Well, let's look on the Brightside!" I said. Everyone turned to look at me, even Sasuke. I grinned. "I won."

Sasuke scoffed, reaching out for some tissues which Shikamaru had snatched from the food stand back in the cinema. He wiped his mouth, frowning at the undoubtedly bad taste.

"...Never drink a milkshake if you're going to throw it up right afterwards. Throwing up cold stuff is weird." He said, shuddering. **(1)**

I laughed, joined by Kiba and Sakura giggled. It was late now, and we decided to go for a walk to help Sasuke and I get rid of the bloated feeling. We discussed the movie along the way, reflecting on how strange and random it had been.

"But seriously, who came up with it?" Kiba asked incredulously. "I mean, a whole film about some baboon that escaped from a science lab, went on a rampage and stole all the ramen in the country? Who comes up with shit like that?" he cried. **(2)**

We all laughed, remembering the odd scenes in the move as we made our way into the park. Sasuke was still looking a bit green around the edges and I still felt pretty sick, so we opted to find a bench somewhere and sit down for a bit.

We walked for a bit, the dim lights along the park walkway hardly illuminating much, until Sakura pointed. "There! There's the bridge! Let's go rest there!" she said and started forwards, leading the rest of us.

I shared a glance with Sasuke, smirking along with him while we walked. We reached the bridge, and the two of us slid down with loud sighs while the others relaxed against the railing. There was a cool breeze that felt good on my skin, and I tilted my head up, breathing deeply. When I opened my eyes, I was met with the starry sky far above us.

"Wow...the sky's really pretty tonight." I breathed, blinking up at the twinkling stars. The others looked up too, sighing in appreciation at the beauty.

"It's so strange to think that those tiny stars are really gigantic fiery planets bigger than the sun, and we can see them from our puny planet." Kiba noted.

There was silence before Shikamaru sighed. "Well...I feel pathetically insignificant now." He joked.

I laughed loudly, looking around at them all.

It was strange that only a week or two ago, Sakura was the only friend I had, and yet now here I was with three more. And I was actually doing things like going out to movies and hanging out with them.

An enjoyable warmth spread through me, and I couldn't help but smile at them all. Sasuke was the first to notice, and he turned a questioning eye on me.

"What is it?" The others looked down at me at his question, and my smile only grew wider.

"It's just...I'm really glad to have friends like you guys." I said, going a bit red at how cliché I sounded.

Sasuke snorted and smirked at me, reaching over and flicking my cheek.

"Dobe."

"Teme!"

Kiba laughed at us, Sakura sighed and shook her head, and Shikamaru just yawned and continued gazing at the sky.

I was grinning internally, even as Sasuke and I began wrestling on the bridge to Kiba's cheers and Sakura's chides.

Yes...It was nice to have friends.

* * *

**(1)- I have done this before...it is the weirdest feeling...having something cold come up...*shudder***

**(2)- *points to pokesyspot* HA HA! I told you I'd fit it in there somehow!**

**So there ya have it...I know, not very impressive, but my minds in an odd place right now...hopefully it'll clear up soon. Reviews would work miracles!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

***crashes through door* I am back with an update! Tonight seems to be my update night this week, I've updated three times including this!**

**I'm so so so sorry for making you all wait. I am not worthy! *grabs knife and puts to throat***

**Kao- If you kill yourself, you won't be able to finish the stories and you'll let all your readers down.**

***freezes* ...This is true. *throws knife away***

**Anyway, hehehe, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! From now on, there is more focus on the beginnings of the Sasunaru-ness, as you know, as well as more focus on...uh...other things. *evil grin***

**Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

**Online!  
**

* * *

I opened the door to my apartment and stumbled inside.

"Close the door." I mumbled and trudged towards my bed, flopping down. Behind me, my guest closed the door before walking over and flopping down next to me with a tired sigh.

Silence reigned for a moment before a thought occurred to me.

"...You forgot to lock it."

A hand slammed down onto my head and there was an annoyed grunt.

"It's your door. You lock it."

I groaned and rolled over onto my back. "But teme!" I whined. "I'm too tired to move!"

Sasuke scoffed into the blanket and lifted his head just enough to give me a glare. "If you've got enough energy to open that big mouth, you have enough energy to lock your own door." He said before sinking back into the sheets.

Only to pull his head back, scraping his tongue with his teeth and grimacing. "...you're sheets really do smell like ass and taste bad. What do you do to them?" he questioned suspiciously, looking mildly disgusted.

I grinned cheekily. "I fart on them and burp on them and drool on them and sometimes I even cu-"

Sasuke slapped a hand over my mouth, already sitting up and looking at the blankets with utter distaste.

"Dobe, that's disgusting. I'm not sleeping under that piece of shit." He growled.

I frowned and licked his hand to make him pull it back, which he did with a short cry of annoyance.

"Dobe!"

I just laughed at him, but pulled myself up anyway and stumbled over to my door, locking it quickly. When I turned around, I was rooted to the spot at the sight before me.

Sasuke was pulling his shirt off, and I studied his chest and stomach, noting that he was lean and had some nice muscles on him. I pouted.

"Teme, you've got more muscle than me!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked down at himself, running a hand over his own chest and stomach.

For some reason my mouth was a bit dry.

Hm...Odd.

"Hn. Well, considering the fact that you have no muscles _at_ _all_, it's no surprise you'd think that way, dobe." Sasuke smirked, tilting his head a bit to the side.

I growled. "Oh yeah? I do have muscle!" I declared.

Sasuke tilted his chin up. "Prove it."

Without stopping to think, I pulled my shirt off over my head and flexed. "See! I do have muscle!" I cried triumphantly, pointing to my stomach and chest. Sasuke just grunted and turned away, his face seeming to be red in the light.

I should probably get a new bulb if it was doing stuff like that.

However, it seemed Sasuke had agreed, sort of, so I claimed it as a victory. Grinning I walked back over to the bed.

"I'm not sure what to do about my blanket. It's the only one I have." I said slowly, scratching my head in thought. Sasuke sent me an incredulous look.

"You only own one blanket?" he asked, disbelieving.

I nodded, still trying to think of a way to spare the both of us from having to sleep under an ass-blanket. "Yeah. I've never had much spare money to buy an extra one, and it's only me here so I don't worry. Maybe Kiba'll have a spare one for us. Hang on, I'll go ask." I said, shifting off the bed. "Oh, does your brother know you're staying over?" I asked, turning to Sasuke.

He shook his head. "No, but he'll call in a few minutes."

Almost as soon as he finished that sentence, music blared up from his back pocket.

'_Hey! I wanna take you to a gay bar! I wanna take you to a gay bar! I wanna take you to a gay bar, gay bar!'_

And while I proceeded to suffocate while laughing my ass of, Sasuke flipped open his phone, his face murderous, and he proceeded to speak.

"Itachi when I get home I'm going to cut off your balls and pickle them and put them on the family mantel."

I laughed harder at that, ignoring the dirty look Sasuke sent me. Waving my hand to indicate I'd be back soon, I unlocked the door and stepped outside, closing it behind me. I blinked when I was met with a lot of fog.

"Whoa..." I murmured. We'd heard that there would be fog tonight, but I hadn't expected it to come so quickly. There had only been a small amount earlier when the group had split up to go home. Since Sasuke lived the furthest away, I'd offered to let him spend the night and he'd agreed.

Most likely because we were both feeling a bit sick and tired from our earlier eating contest.

Squinting my eyes and rubbing my arms to ward off the chill, I walked over to the next door and knocked, hoping they were still awake.

I waited, thinking about how I may have to buy some more blankets and pillows sometime, since I seemed to be having guests more often. The wind which had brought the fog over Konoha was chilled, and I shivered.

"Come on Kiba, answer the door." I muttered, knocking again. I considered going back to my place just to get a jacket, but I knew that with my luck, someone would open the door the moment I was out of sight.

I hugged myself tighter when a prickling ran up the back of my neck. I stayed still, trying to think where I'd felt this feeling before.

There was a noise down the hall, near where the stairs were and I whipped my head around to look, but only saw fog. I couldn't even see the stair railings. I couldn't see anything!

"Well if that's not the making of a horror film, then I'm a newt." I murmured softly, feeling rather nervous now. I knocked on the door once more, but if no one answered after thirty seconds, I would just go back and tell Sasuke that we had to deal with an ass-blanket.

When twenty-nine seconds passed, the door opened revealing Kiba's mother Tsume. She looked down at me and quirked an eyebrow.

"Why are you standing there in the freezing fog?" she asked, her gruff voice making me subconsciously stand straighter like a soldier.

"Sorry, but I was hoping Kiba could lend me a spare blanket. I don't have an extra, and my friend Sasuke is staying the night." I explained. This woman kind of scared me.

Tsume blinked before a huge grin took over her face.

It only made her look more intimidating.

"That's all? No problem, we've got loads of spare blankets. I'll get you one, do you want to step inside?" she asked. I shook my head, telling her it would be better for me to wait. She nodded and turned, heading down the hall to fetch a blanket.

I swayed where I stood, humming a nonsense tune to keep myself busy. The door had swung slightly shut, a sliver of yellow light falling in my eye and making me squint.

It was a bit similar to the dream I'd had.

Shuddering at the memory of the nightmare, I stepped back until the light was on my chest.

The prickling feeling returned, and I glanced around, wondering if there were little fog-insects or something that were causing it. When I could feel nothing, nor see anything, I shrugged it off.

Tsume returned soon, holding a thick red blanket with small dog-paw imprints on it. "Here, it's the warmest one we have. And here's a spare pillow in case." She said, holding them out. I smiled gratefully, taking it. The blanket was very warm indeed. My arms felt warmer just holding it!

"Thank you so much!" I said, but Tsume only waved her hand.

"No problem. Anytime, Naruto-kun." She smiled again, this one a bit less feral, and closed the door.

I hugged the blanket to my chest and started for my door, hoping not to trip on anything in the fog. I reached out a hand to grab my doorknob when a sound came to my ears.

I snapped my head up to look at the direction it had come from, the stairs and listened.

It sounded like...feet shuffling and maybe some heavy breathing? As if someone was injured?

"...Hello?" I called timidly. There was a soft cough in reply, but I still couldn't hear it all too well.

Frowning, I looked at my door, and then back towards the stairs. After a few repeats of this, I sighed and put the blankets down before slowly walking towards the stairs.

"And this is the part of the movie where the audience screams 'don't go there!'" I said softly with an ironic smile. I reached out until I found the wall, knowing it would disappear when I reached the corner where the stairs were and the hallway leading to other apartments.

"Is somebody there?" I called again, not very loudly. It was rather late and I didn't want a bunch of angry tenants chasing me with pillows, spoons and slippers..._again_.

I shuddered. "I just remembered something unpleasant." I murmured.

There was a soft thump to my right, down the other hallway. I froze, my eyes widening as I stared in that direction. There was another thump, and I stepped back, feeling a bit scared.

Great, now I'm going to be the first one to die in this horror film. Dammit, I'd hoped I'd at least be fourth if not last.

"H-hello?" I asked shakily. There was, of course, no reply, and I took another step back.

Okay, freak out time beginning in T-minus ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six-

There was a low chuckle and heavy breathing.

_Fivefourthreetwoone_-I'M OUTTA HERE!

I spun around, my heart beating rapidly and my vision blurring from the sudden motion and fog. When things cleared slightly I took a step forwards and another until I was running, but halfway there I was stopped by an obstacle.

I collided against something and bounced back, landing on my ass and hearing whatever I'd hit grunt.

"How many fucking times do you plan on running into me, dobe?" Sasuke demanded angrily, rubbing his chest where my face had impacted it. I groaned in pain, but my panic stopped me from worrying about it and making a fuss. Instead, I scrambled to my feet and grabbed Sasuke, yanking him by the arm towards my door. He stumbled, being pulled at an odd angle.

"Hey! Let go you idiot!" he hissed, but I just grabbed my door handle and threw it open, before bending down and grabbing the blanket which Sasuke had oh so conveniently missed and throwing it inside.

Then I spun us around so I was behind him and shoved him through the door before swiftly following and closing the door with a snap. I leant against it and panted, my mind calming down and starting to remind me how positively stupid I'd just been.

Looking up at a glaring Sasuke, I swallowed and chuckled nervously. "Uh...I got a blanket?" I said weakly, holding up the thick material.

Sasuke scoffed and snatched it out my hand and tossing it over to the bed before resuming his glaring. "Care to explain what the hell just happened with you? Why were you taking so long, why were you down by the stairs and why did you freak out like a total retard?" he asked, crossing his arms and leaning heavily on one foot.

I blinked and pointed at him. "You know you look like a woman when you do that."

Sasuke let out a frustrated noise and turned away. "You're so weird!" he stated before turning back, this time letting his arms hang while he stared.

I laughed again, but it faltered under his gaze.

Shit, he wanted answers and he wasn't going to let it go.

"What happened?" he asked, voice firm. I stared at him for a moment, before sighing.

"Nothing. Just my overactive imagination." I said dismissively.

"Hn. You need to have a brain to have an imagination." Sasuke said, but he seemed calmer.

I growled, stalking past him and flopping on the bed. "Bastard."

He followed, grabbing the blanket and spreading it out. He smirked. "Now this is a real blanket." He studied it, his smirk fading slightly. "Although...the dog prints are unnecessary." He murmured.

I snickered at him, turning my head to the side to study him and the large blanket. "Dude, it came from Kiba's place. What do you expect?"

Sasuke grimaced. "Don't call me dude."

I grinned. "Why not, dude?"

"Stop it."

"Dude."

"Naruto..." Sasuke said; his tone warning. I closed my mouth, staring at him. He nodded, satisfied and turned away.

"...Dude."

I had to duck the blanket-covered fist that came my way, but it was worth it to annoy him.

* * *

I sighed, scooting closer to the warmth next to me and slinging an arm over it, wanting to absorb as much heat as possible. I didn't remember feeling so warm before, but it was a nice feeling.

One that I wouldn't mind feeling all the time.

The heater groaned and turned over to face me, slinging a long limb-thing over me and warming me up further. I hummed contentedly, still drifting between sleep and reality, and snuggled closer to it.

For a full minute, while my brain struggled to pull itself out of the marshes of sleep, I continued to slip closer and closer to the warmth beside me, ignoring the small alarm bells going off in my head that were saying 'don't go any closer!'

But, as per usual, I ignored them all and kept going closer until eventually I was pressed right up against it. It seemed to squeeze tighter and pull me closer.

And only when I felt a brush of warm air on my face and hear a groan did I bother to crack my eyes open.

All I saw was dark onyx blinking back at me.

Now this is what happened, and I want you all to pay very, very careful attention.

You all listening? Promise?

Good.

First things first.

I Did. Not. Scream.

No, don't give me that 'yeah right' look! I swear to the Ramen Gods that I didn't scream.

And, okay, I won't lie. Sasuke didn't scream either.

Once we both were awake and we realized our...err...position, we both stared at each other silently, and both of our faces grew red.

Yes, Sasuke blushed.

But I couldn't really make any wise cracks about it seeing as my face was the same if not worse.

We stared at each other for a while, not speaking but only blushing madly. Then, in an almost silent agreement, we both nodded curtly.

Sasuke unwound his arm from my waist, and I pulled my arms away from his chest. Then we both scooted in the opposite direction before turning to lie on our backs and stare at the ceiling for about half an hour.

So as you can see, we both handled it rather well and did not freak out.

Back to the story now.

I lay with my hands linked on my chest while Sasuke did the same. We didn't look at each other while we waited for our blushes to subside after waking up in such an awkward position.

It was absolutely quiet but for my clock's usual ticking and I felt the air grow heavier and heavier with awkwardness as we continued to avoid each other's gaze.

I jumped a foot when there was a loud bang from the wall before Kiba's muffled voice yelled at us.

"I have no idea what you two are doing, but I can feel the awkward air from here! The world has enough gay babies without you two adding to them!"

Sasuke and I snapped our heads to look at each other in shock.

And then I laughed while Sasuke snickered.

"He's awfully sensitive, isn't he?" Sasuke smirked, nodding towards the wall that Kiba had struck.

I shrugged. "I bet it's because he has so many dogs, he's picked up on their sensitivity. I'm surprised he's even allowed to keep them in the apartment, but then again his is a lot bigger than mine." I theorized.

Sasuke nodded in agreement before he stretched. I found my eyes lingering on his neck as he tilted his head back too, and internally I slapped myself for being weird.

After all Sasuke was just a friend and he wasn't gay so I shouldn't be thinking any of those kinds of thoughts. Not that I'd want to or anything...

Okay, I'll admit that Sasuke is a hot guy. Now that I don't hate him, I can admit that he's got good points. The pale skin is nice, if maybe a bit vampire-sh. I actually started trying to push him into direct sunlight to see if he sparkles. And I've actually managed to feel his hair, so I know it's actually pretty soft.

Oh and if you're wondering how I felt his hair, it's because we got into an argument once during woodwork class and I grabbed his hair to try and get my point across. I'm not sure why I thought that would work, since all it did was make him even madder and he almost used a nail gun to nail me to the wall.

I snickered at the memory, realizing that some of the fights we got into before we became friends were actually pretty amusing.

Like the time we were the Chemistry lab and we ended up being too busy arguing to notice what we were putting into our mixture. The small vial ended up exploding and we both had red faces for the whole day due to the odd mixture.

Or the time during lunch when we bumped into each other after getting a helping of what the students call 'mystery meatloaf' since we're not sure what is in it, exactly. But anyway, we had walked into each other by accident since the cafeteria was so full, and then we'd proceeded to get into a fight. By the end of it, we were rolling around covered in mystery meatloaf and other foods.

I chuckled at the memory, finding it even more amusing now since Sasuke was sitting right next to me, as none other than one of my close friends.

The world was an odd place indeed.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

Naruto and I spent the morning fooling around (no not in that way you perverts). We played a few games on his pc and had a few contests over several different and meaningless things. When lunch time rolled around, both of us were hungry, so I suggested we go to the cafe down the road to eat.

Naruto was all for the idea, so after throwing on some clothes-I wore one of his black shirts and my jeans from yesterday- we made our way out of his apartment and towards the small cafe known as Cafe 99.

We walked through the door, the small jingle of the bell alerting the staff of our presence. The cafe was pretty empty today, but it didn't really surprise me since it wasn't the most noticeable cafe. Before we could take a seat, a girl with long brown hair that was put into a thick braid down her back walked up, smiling.

"Hello, welcome to Cafe 99. I'm Mizuru and I'll be your waitress." She said pleasantly. Naruto grinned at her and her eyes drifted over him. Her face looked shocked for a moment before smoothing out, but the cheerfulness was dulled slightly.

I suppressed a growl.

We were led to a small table and seated and the waitress, Mizuru, placed out menus down. Her eyes lingered on Naruto, seeming as if she was trying to decide something. Growing annoyed, I waved her away.

"Give us a few minutes to decide, please." I said. She blinked and nodded, quickly scurrying away.

Naruto was already looking over the menu, his eyes bright. "Hey, this new dish looks good!" he said. I looked up at him, seeing the happy look.

But then suddenly his face fell.

"What's wrong dobe?" I asked after a moment. Naruto glanced up at me before laughing sheepishly.

"Oh, nothing. I just realized that it's too expensive for me to get." He said softly before shrugging and turning back to the menu, looking for cheaper options.

I stared at him for a moment, before looking back at my menu. "Get it."

"Huh?"

"You want it, right? So order it."

His blue eyes widened. "Dude, I can't afford it."

"I'm paying."

My menu was torn from my loose grasp while Naruto glared at me. I stared back.

"No you're not. We're splitting the bill."

"Hn. I'm paying, dobe. That's final."

Naruto bristled. "I'm not letting you buy me food." He said stubbornly.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "It's not like I'm treating you, dobe. It's just we haven't eaten a thing since last night, I'm hungry, you're hungry and I know that now that you've seen that dish, you won't be fully satisfied if you can't try it. I'm paying for the sake of my own sanity."

Okay, so that's a load of bullshit. But hey, I knew he wouldn't accept it any other way. After all, Naruto wasn't the type to accept charity.

He still glared at me, but it had lessened slightly. Finally, after a long silence, he huffed and leant back.

"Fine, teme. You're paying. But next time, I'm buying my own food." He said.

I snorted and crossed my arms. "You've got to be the only person on the planet who argues over getting a free meal." I said.

Naruto flashed me a grin that made my heart skip a beat. "That's me! The number one unpredictable stud muffin!" he said.

I scoffed. "Unpredictable knuckle-head is more like it." I murmured, but he heard me nonetheless.

"Teme!"

I hid my smile behind my menu.

* * *

The door slammed loudly behind me as I walked into the foyer of my house, groaning and slipping off my jacket.

After our meal, I'd dragged Naruto to a nearby store to buy him some more blankets and sheets, ignoring his many loud protests along the way. But after my glare and convincing argument of 'Dobe, you have an ass-blanket. I'm buying you another one, so shut up.' I managed to get him a few decent covers.

And yet somehow the sneaky bastard had managed to get an orange one in there. How I didn't see it until it was passed over the counter is beyond me.

But after that little excursion, my mother had called telling me I needed to come home, so we'd parted ways.

Now I was back in my home, groaning from all the walking.

"Sasuke, good to see you're home." My mother called as she walked in, holding a tray with several cups of tea. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do we have guests?"

"You're father has some friends from work over." She said with a smile. I blinked.

"Father has friends?"

Her laughter tinkled through the lounge and her face was beaming as she smiled at me.

"Oh Sasuke, you're so funny. Now, go get cleaned up. They're staying for dinner, and you look pretty tired. Did you have fun with your friend?" she asked suddenly.

I paused on my way to the bathroom and looked back at her. After a moment, I allowed a small smile to slip onto my face.

"Yeah. It was fun."

She smiled happily, her eyes sparkling. "I'm so glad." And with that she left the room.

I walked over to the nearest bathroom and relieved myself, sighing. Suddenly, I heard someone's voice in the hallway, and recognized it as Itachi's.

Remembering my promise from last night, I looked around the bathroom while zipping up my jeans. My eyes landed on a large pair of scissors that my mother often used to trim our hair. They were far too large to just cut hair in my opinion, but for my task, they were perfect.

Smirking, I grabbed them before walking out into the hallway, calling out.

"Hey Itachi? Come here for a second..."

* * *

**Hehehe, I enjoy writing Sasuke at home. It's so similar to mine and my sister's relationship...only she's not quite as evil as Itachi and I'm not an emo like Sasuke...okay, never mind, maybe it's not all that similar. ¬.¬**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know in a review!**

**Not sure when I'll update again, since things are all over the place for me...but I'll try my best to make it reasonable.**

**See you next time!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello my pretties! I have brought you another chapter! I think I'm finally getting back into the writing for this story, since I now know how I want the next couple of chapters to go, and I'm planning it all out in my head...for once. ¬.¬**

**Anyway, just a quicky note before we start...okay, a few quicky notes. Eherm... Note 1: The 'mysterious' person who sent Naru those letters and such does NOT appear in this chapter. You'll understand why I'm clarifying this later. But just know that no one in this chapter is the 'mysterious' letter sending pervert.**

**Note 2: SAsuke's parents...they are actually cool in this story...well, his mother's usually cool, but in this story, his father is cool too...why?...BECAUSE I SAID SO, THAT'S WHY! I didn't feel like adding a grumpy, 'I-Am-An-Asshole' Fugaku to this story...besides, he can't be that way since I need him to be cool for future use. :P**

**Anyway, that's all. Now for the standard.**

**Warnings: Hints of yaoi, evil brothers, overexcited mothers and swearing, but very small amounts.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...as much as I wish I did...**

**Online! (p.s- check out my DA account! I've been drawing pics like crazy and I'd love some opinions! Here's the link, remove the spaces: **http :/ juuria66 .deviantart. com/gallery/**)  
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* * *

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**~Sasuke POV~**

It had been a week since the movie night, and I'd spent almost every afternoon over at Naruto's apartment, sometimes helping him with his Biology, sometimes just talking and sometimes we played some games on his pc. It should have been meaningless and boring to me, but I couldn't help but enjoy every second of it. As much as it went against my character to say it, I actually had..._fun_.

And a lot of it.

We still fought like world leaders, but like Naruto had said to Kiba after the boy had separated us from a particularly physical confrontation on Wednesday... 'It wouldn't be us if we didn't fight.'

Such truth in those words.

But there was something else that was making me uncomfortable.

Somehow, since the gods themselves hate me, Naruto had been getting even more..._gorgeous_.

Although nothing was physically changing about him, and his mentality still left a lot to be desired, I'd noticed that lately he seemed to be so much more beautiful to me, and it was becoming harder and harder to stop myself from staring. And what made it worse was his lips had just grown so bloody kissable.

I'd been dying to kiss him for the past few days, and it had taken a shit load of self control not to.

I had to admit it.

I, Uchiha Sasuke, had a full out crush on Uzumaki Naruto.

Hn. You were expecting some sort of deep love confession? Well, too bad but I don't think it's that far just yet. I'm admitting that I have deep feelings for him, but love?

Don't push your luck.

It was Saturday, and I was having a really nice dream, which involved a world without fangirls and the population was all blonde hair and blue eyes.

But of course, _I _have the demonic spawned brother from hell's _basement_, so my peaceful sleep wasn't going to last long.

At eight on the dot, Itachi crept into my room, and I was oblivious to his presence, being too indulged in my dream. However, it was hard to ignore the blaring horn that went off right next to my ear.

I yelled out, sitting up and getting tangled in my blankets as I went while Itachi snickered evilly above me.

"Good morning little brother."

"Fuck you to the deepest depths of hell!"

I was not a morning person. Never have been, and never will be.

Itachi only smirked, placing one hand on his hip while the other carelessly tossed the small fog horn thing he'd used to shatter my slumber.

The evil bastard.

"That was payback for almost castrating me last week." He said smoothly.

I grinned at the memory of that day. It had only been my mother's sudden appearance that had saved Itachi's balls from their rightful place on the mantel. He was a lucky man.

I still had the scissors though. Maybe I could get him now?

"Little brother, you're looking positively evil right now. Should I be worried?" Itachi asked sarcastically, sitting down on my bed. I glared at him, scooting away.

"What do you want, Itachi?" I snapped.

"Mother says she wants to speak to you. She's in the kitchen making father's breakfast." He replied, looking at his nails.

I sighed, threw the covers off, making sure they covered Itachi's head before kicking him off the bed, and got up to my drawers. "Get out of my room."

"Such a cruel little brother. Is that any way to treat the man who changed your shitty diapers when mom wasn't home?"

"As I recall, you never changed a diaper in your life, since you got Deidara to do it for you." I retorted.

Itachi shrugged. "I still had a hand in it. Someone had to bribe him."

"You threatened him." I reminded, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Bribery, threats...same thing in the end." Itachi said dismissively.

"No it's not."

"Details, details."

"You're such a dick. Get out of my room." I said, turning back to my dresser and pulling out a pair of black pants.

Itachi snickered but stood up, making his way to the door. "Oh, and little brother?"

"What?"

"...How are things going with Naruto? You were saying his name quite a bit in your sleep."

Itachi left before I could throttle him, and I heard his evil laughter down the hallway.

That man was a devil. The evil, demonic reincarnation of some weasel that I murdered in a past life.

It's the only explanation.

Fighting down a small blush at the thought of me saying Naruto's name in my sleep, I pulled on a shirt and made my way down the stairs, heading for the kitchen.

Sure enough, when I walked in, mother was at the stove, cooking some eggs and bacon. Father was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper so close to his face, he was almost squint. I hid a smirk and held back my comment on how he should just give up and get glasses knowing that he'd probably give me some sort of chore as punishment.

"Morning mother." I mumbled, leaning over and placing a light kiss on her cheek. She smiled and turned to me, her hands still working on the food.

"Good morning Sasuke dear. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

I sighed and sat across from my father, leaning an elbow on the table and my head in my hand. "Oh, sure...right up until Itachi nearly blew my brains out through my ear." I said sarcastically. I heard my father grunt in amusement, but nothing more while mother laughed openly.

"Oh you two. Anyway, Sasuke I was wondering..." she turned to look at me, smiling. "Today, I'm making a big lunch, since your father is having some co-workers over for some business discussions. Itachi has invited Deidara and Kisame, so why don't you invite your friend over? Lord knows we all want to meet him." She said.

I blinked, thinking. Naruto had never been to my house before, but I didn't see anything wrong with it. Aside from teasing from Itachi, and a first few moments of despair under father's gaze, things shouldn't be too bad. And I definitely didn't want to be left alone with Deidara and Kisame _and _Itachi all at once.

That's just suicidal.

"Well, I can invite him, and if he's not too busy then I'm sure it'll be fine." I said slowly. My mother beamed.

"Excellent! I hope he can make it! I really want to meet him. He's the first friend you'll be bringing home!" She said.

Father grunted again, looking over the tip of his newspaper at me. I was taken aback by the light glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Not quite, dear. Remember when Sasuke was six and he brought that stray pig home, claiming it was his friend?" he said.

Mother laughed again while I groaned and lay me head on the table.

"You won't mention that to him if he comes here, will you?" I asked despairingly. My father only smirked and pulled his paper back up. I groaned again. "You _will_, won't you?"

"Maybe."

I sighed loudly. "So that's where Itachi gets it." I mumbled.

"Sasuke, go and call your friend now! It's best to find out as soon as possible!" My mother said excitedly. I nodded and pulled myself away from the table, heading to the phone in the hall.

Dialling Naruto's number, I put the phone to my ear and leant against the wall, one hand tapping a rhythm on my thigh while it rang. After the fifth ring, the phone was picked up and I heard a husky, sleep-edged voice answer.

"Hello?"

"Yo, dobe."

"Sasuke? Why are you calling at," his voice faded, indicating he was looking away at his alarm. "Teme! It's only eight thirty! I was sleeping!"

"Hn. If I'm not allowed to sleep in, then neither are you." I replied smugly.

"What? Hell no! How is that fair?"

"I never said it was."

"Asshole."

"Moron, I'm calling for a reason." I sighed.

"You had bloody better be! If you woke me up early on a Saturday just because you're being a pissy bastard, I'd rip your kidneys out through your ass."

I raised an eyebrow, looking at the phone. It seemed my violent threats at Itachi had begun to rub off on the blonde.

"Hn. Whatever. Anyway, my family is having some big lunch thing today, and I was wondering if you'd like to come too?"

There was silence for a moment, and I waited patiently. Finally, Naruto's hesitant voice answered.

"...Do your parent's know you're asking me?"

"Dobe, my mother subtly begged me to invite you. She's the one who told me to phone you right now instead of later."

"...Uh...okay...Well, I'm not doing anything, so I guess it's cool...What time?"

I pulled the phone away and called out. "Oi, mother?"

"Yes?"

"What time should he come over?"

"...How about _now_?"

I blinked. "It's not lunch yet."

"So? He can spend the day here!"

Sighing, I put the phone back to my ear. "My mother says you can spend the day here, so you can come now."

"...She's eager to meet me isn't she?" Naruto's amused voice asked, and I could easily picture his grin.

"You have no idea." I muttered, leaning my head against the wall.

"Well, I just need to shower and get dressed. And maybe eat something too." He said.

"He can eat here!"

I jumped a foot in the air when my mother spoke from right beside me. When she'd gotten there and leant that close to listen in was beyond me, but needless to say I almost dropped the phone in my surprise.

"Geez mother, you almost gave me a heart attack!" I said, holding a hand over my heart to show.

Naruto's laugh was loud enough to seep through the phone. I felt my face heat up slightly at the fact he was laughing at me, and sadly my mother seemed entranced.

"He has such a cute laugh Sasuke!" she whispered happily. I blinked and held the phone closer.

"Stop laughing."

"But..Aahaha...that was...hilarious to hear! Ahhhahaa!" Naruto laughed, and faintly I heard what sounded like a fist thumping on a bed.

I growled into the phone while my mother hovered nearby, eyes shining.

"Dobe, are you coming or not?" I snapped, mortified at being made fun of. Naruto let his laughter die slowly before clearing his throat.

"Yeah, yeah. Geez, you're so demanding. I'll be there in half an hour, since I'm walking." He said, and I could hear him walking around now.

"Walking?" my mother inquired, looking confused. "Why doesn't he take the bus? Doesn't he have spare money?"

I shrugged. She frowned.

"I'll tell Itachi to pick him up, so tell him not to worry." She said.

I stared at her before sighing. "Naruto, my brother and I will come fetch you."

"No." Naruto's voice said suddenly. I blinked, along with my mother who was practically pressing her face against mine to hear.

"What?"

"It's okay...I'll walk." Naruto said slowly.

"Dobe, that'll take ages, and it's not exactly a short distance."

"It's fine. I walk everywhere and I prefer it okay." Naruto said, his tone final.

My mother and I shared a glance before I sighed. "Fine. So see you in half an hour or so?"

"Yeah. See you."

There was a click and the line went dead. I put the phone back on the wall and turned to see my mother looking at me intently.

"What?" I asked warily.

She smiled. "...I just couldn't help but notice that look on your face when you were talking to him." She said.

I raised an eyebrow. "_Look_? What look?" I asked slowly, not sure what she was talking about. Did I get a look on my face when talking to Naruto?

She giggled, her smile widening. "Oh, it's nothing much. You just get a kind of..._affectionate_ look." She said, laughing when I gaped in shock. "You must really like this boy, dear." She said and winked.

I could only mouth soundlessly, not sure what to say. Was I that obvious?

Damn, I needed to work on that.

"Mother, when is breakfast ready?" Itachi asked, stepping into the hall. My mother turned to him, looking stern.

"We can eat as soon as Sasuke's friend arrives. Itachi, I want you to go fetch him." She said.

I snapped out of my gaping to step forward. "Mother, he said he'd rather walk."

"I know that dear, but it's a long way and slightly dangerous. I'd feel better knowing he was safe."

I frowned. "But you let me walk to school and it's far. Why can't he walk too?"

She sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Because, sweetie, I'm quite sure he hasn't been trained in martial arts, nor has a micro chip in his brain to track him should he get kidnapped." She said.

I stared. "...There's a micro chip in my brain?"

Itachi snorted and looked to the side. "Maybe that's what short-circuited and made it useless." He muttered.

Mother tapped his chest in scolding and smiled. "Now hurry up. Sasuke will go with you to give directions." She said, walking away.

Itachi sighed and reached over to the peg board nearby, grabbing the car keys. "Come on Sasuke, let's go."

I nodded, and we moved to the door, slipping on our shoes before heading to the car.

* * *

The drive started out quiet but for the moments I gave Itachi some directions. We were only a few minutes out on the road when Itachi decided to chat.

"So Sasuke...this Naruto boy..."

I looked at him carefully, but his face seemed serious enough.

"Yes?"

"You like him." Itachi stated.

I scoffed. "Way to go captain obvious. I thought that was a must in a friendship."

Itachi took the time to give me a look out of the corner of his eyes while we were stopped at a red light.

"Sasuke, that's not what I meant." He said.

I looked at him. "Then what did you-" my sentence died in my throat when realization washed over me, and I snapped my mouth shut.

Itachi took my sudden silence as a notice that I'd understood him, and focused on driving once more.

I stared at him, my mind whizzing furiously. Was I honestly and truly that obvious? Could everyone see it, or was it only because they were my family? Could Kiba and Sakura see it? They hadn't said anything, but maybe because they were just respecting privacy? Could Naruto see it? If he could, then why didn't he say something?

"Little brother, you haven't taken a breath for over twenty seconds." Itachi's calm voice cut through my chaotic mind, and I let my breath out in a huff.

"...I don't know what you're talking about." I said finally, turning to look out of my window.

Itachi smirked. "Whatever. But just take it slow, you don't want to scare him off now do you?"

I scowled, glaring at him before looking back out the window. We were a few blocks away from Naruto's apartment. Small stores and alleyways drifted passed.

My eyes widened, and I placed my hands against the window, staring out in horror. "Itachi stop the car!" I ordered loudly.

Itachi, surprised by my sudden command, only slowed the car. "Sasuke? What's-_Sasuke_!" He yelled after me as I pushed the door open and jumped out of the car, stumbling only a bit due to the motion.

I didn't answer, too focused on running to the alleyway we'd passed. My heart beat quickly as I got closer, and I could hear the voices coming from them, one of them so familiar it made me clench my teeth in anger at hearing it this way.

"Get the hell away from me!" the voice shouted.

"Aw, come on, don't you want to play? I promise it'll be fun!" a snide voice asked, then laughed loudly along with two others.

"Hey, Dosu, let me have a turn with the brat too, kay?"

"Sure, Zaku."

"No! Let go of me you assholes!"

I sped around the corner, my eyes narrowing in anger as they came into view.

I ran up to them and came to an abrupt halt, standing firm and glaring at the people who were currently trying to hold down a blonde.

"Let. Naruto. Go." I growled.

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I seriously hate my life.

Seriously, what had I ever done to deserve such shit luck and such torment! I was a nice kid! I never kicked any puppies, or smashed bird eggs, or flushed hamsters down the toilet, or broke windows or spat on the church walls or anything!

So why was I always the victim of this shit!

I had been walking to Sasuke's house, taking a slightly different route than I usually would, since it was in a new direction. I was passing some stores when suddenly these guys pulled me into the alley.

My back was pushed against the wall, and the one guy, some ass with sideburns and spiked hair was leering at me.

"Hey there, cutie. What's say we have some fun?" he said.

I glared and shoved him away. "Leave me alone." I said, then tried to leave but he grabbed my elbow and yanked me back.

I ripped myself away from him, but he was blocking the exit and forcing me to back up. Soon his friend was also close, some guy whose face was half hidden under a bandage and who was hunching.

The hunchback, as I dubbed him, stepped forwards, his eyes raking over my body and practically undressing me on the spot. The third person was a thin guy with long hair and really girly features, wearing a thick scarf around his neck.

"Looks like we have a feisty one here." The hunchback said.

Sideburns laughed loudly, licking his lips. "Just the way I like them."

The hunchback chuckled while I stepped farther back.

"Get the hell way from me!" I shouted, backing away but my back hit a wall and I gasped.

"Aw, come on, don't you want to play? I promise it'll be fun!" The hunchback said before reaching forward quickly and grabbing me by the collar of my shirt. I struggled, but he was a lot stronger than his friend, and he easily pushed me to the ground, hovering over me.

"Hey, Dosu, let me have a turn with the brat too, kay?" Sideburns said, laughing and walking closer.

Dosu.a.k.a hunchback nodded, his leg shifting between my own.

"Sure Zaku."

I gasped when I felt his knee rubbing against my groin and my struggles renewed, with me thrashing and bucking to get him away.

"No! Let me go you assholes!" I yelled, reaching up to try and punch them, but the Zaku guy grabbed my arms and forced them above my head, sneering.

I struggled as much as I could, growling and snarling but to no avail. They only pinned me down, and the Dosu guy ground his knee harder against my crotch, making me gasp and hiss. It was actually hurting me, he was pushing so hard.

Just when I was considering leaning up and biting the bastards neck, a voice radiating death and anger spoke from nearby.

"Let. Naruto. Go."

I snapped my head to the side, my eyes growing wide as I saw none other than Sasuke standing there, his fists clenched, and his eyes promising a very painful death to the two guys on top of me and the third who was watching from the side.

Relief swelled in my chest at the sight of him, and I couldn't help but relax a bit.

"Sasuke..." I murmured, but it was too soft for him to hear. And he was a bit preoccupied with glaring these guys into an early death.

Suddenly, the Dosu guy laughed along with his friends, and his knee moved again, pressing up against me and rubbing. I gasped, my back arching slightly from the sudden action, and my head was forced to face upwards by Zaku's one hand.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, pretty boy. You see, this little blonde is just so damn sexy, I just have to have him. Don't worry, when we're done, we'll give him back." Dosu said, his knee moving faster.

I tried to catch my breath, my eyes watering from the unwanted stimulus.

"N-no!" I managed to ground out, my voice sounded pathetic even to my own ears.

I heard Sasuke growl loudly, sounding much like an angered dog before there was chaos.

Sasuke ran forwards, bringing his knee around and hitting Dosu right in the face, knocking him off of me while Sasuke's fist landed on Zaku's face, sending him sprawling against the wall and clutching his now bleeding and possibly broken nose, judging by the loud crack I'd heard.

I rolled over as soon as I was free, and scrambled to get to my feet, feeling Sasuke's strong arms wrapping around me to help me up.

"You assholes! If I ever see you near him again, I'll kill you." Sasuke spat at them, already backtracking and pulling me along with him.

My legs felt a bit wobbly from earlier, and my back hurt from when they'd pushed me down, but luckily other than that there wasn't anything wrong with me.

We were almost at the alley exit when I sensed an attack.

"Sasuke!" I called, spinning around and causing him to do the same. We both saw the third guy, the she-he, swinging his fist at us, snarling.

I closed my eyes, preparing for the impact and I felt Sasuke tense in preparation.

And we waited...

And waited...

And...wait, what?

"Foolish little brother. You should know better than to jump out of a moving car let alone start a fight in an alleyway."

I opened my eyes to see an older, slightly more muscular version of Sasuke, with long raven hair and two stress lines adorning his pale face.

Sasuke sighed beside me. "Thanks Itachi." He murmured, sounding very unhappy about having to thank the man at all.

Itachi nodded, his hand still wrapped tightly, almost crushingly, around the she-he's wrist. He seemed oblivious to the whimpers of pain the guy was making.

"Come on, you two. Mother will get worried if we take too long." Itachi said, tossing the wrist away and sending the she-he to the floor. He dusted off his shirt and turned swiftly, walking back towards the sleek black Mercedes parked on the side of the road nearby.

Sasuke urged me forward, and I walked leaning closer to him slightly.

"Thanks Sasuke..." I mumbled.

He glanced at me, his eyes swimming with some emotion that I was too preoccupied to really place at the moment before he grunted.

"No problem dobe. It's only right to help a lady in distress."

I nodded in agreement before his words caught up to me. "Bastard!"

Sasuke just snickered.

We drew closer to the car, and I felt myself getting tense. I was still nervous around cars, which was why I'd refused their offer before, but it seemed I had no choice. I stared at the sleek thing, swallowing.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

I shook my head. "J-just give me a second...I'm not really fond of cars..." I mumbled, embarrassed.

Itachi looked over at us from the driver's seat before offering a small smirk. "It's okay, Sasuke used to be scared of bugs. He would run away screaming when a beetle flew into the room." He said.

I chuckled, but after the dark look Sasuke sent me, I quickly shut up, not wanting to incur the wrath of a pissed off and embarrassed Sasuke.

"Come on, let's go." He said huffily.

I nodded, opening the door and swallowing my fear. Before I could get in, however, a voice called.

"Not so fast you asshole! I'm not done with you!"

We turned to see Zaku, his nose bleeding and blood running down his chin and neck. He glared at Sasuke, but before he could do more, Itachi stepped out of the car and stood in front of us.

He glared at the bloody man before speaking in a calm, and dangerous voice. "I'm going to give you ten seconds to turn around and walk back into that alleyway. If you fail to leave my sight before then, I will proceed to tear your eyes, tongue, fingers and testicles off using a pair of pliers in my car, and then I will cover you in oil and set you alight before watching you burn and possibly roasting marshmallows with my brother and his friend while you scream in agony and slowly die after your skin has melted from your bones."

Zaku gulped, his face white as a sheet by the end of Itachi's calm and ever so slightly cheerful sentence, despite the obvious killer intent that was thick in the air.

Zaku only blinked once more before he spun around, and bolted for the alleyway. "I'll get you for this someday!" he screamed back before disappearing from sight.

Itachi sighed and turned, getting back into the car. He looked at Sasuke and I, who were still standing motionless.

"Come on, boys. I'm getting hungry and breakfast is waiting." Itachi said, offering a cheery smile.

Sasuke and I shared a look before slowly getting into the car. As we began to drive, I leant over to Sasuke, who was in the back with me and whispered. "Hey Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"You're brother is kind of scary and kind of cool."

Sasuke sighed, leaning back. "Hn. You haven't seen anything yet." He murmured, closing his eyes.

I smiled and sat back as well, focusing on Sasuke rather than the motion of the car and the fact that I should be freaking out. Surprisingly, I wasn't as scared as I'd been before. I looked down and realized why I wasn't freaking out.

Sasuke's arm was still around my waist, holding me almost reassuringly. He didn't seem to realize it but I didn't see any reason to remind him. I rather liked the warmth it provided.

* * *

**Awww...da fluff... *sparkly eyes* So how was it? I actually rewrote this chapter like...four times...or just rewrote the beginning because I wasn't ahppy with the way it started, but I think this one works? Right?**

**Anyway, I'll try to work on the next chapter quickly, but school and all...only got limited time ne?**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, hope you have fun reading it and reviewin-nudgenudge, winkwink- and also, if you decide to check out my gallery on deviantart(the link is at the tope of the page) then have fun there as well, maybe leave a comment or two or whatever! ^^**

**Happy reading!**

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	16. Chapter 16

**Kagome, Kagome... FCUK! GET OUTTA MY HEAD YOU EVIL SONG YOU! *huffs***

**Lol, ever since I finished the last chapter of Rei-Senzai 2, that creepy ass song has been stuck in my head...I couldn't fall asleep last night because of it! _**

**Anyway, not much to say... I hope you enjoy the chapter. It's pretty short, compared to what I usually write, but it's not too short...really...**

**Warnings: Uhm...don't think there's anything bad...childish sibling rivalry and uh... bit off OOC Sasuke, but then again, this is AU...so that kinda shows that they're not in character AT ALL to start with. :D ah well...**

**Disclaimer: No. Just no.**

**Lol, hope you like Fugaku! ;D**

**Online!  
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During the ride back, I gave Naruto a once over, despite his complaints at my prodding, and was pleased to see he had minimal injuries. Only a bruise on his back and a light discomfort between his legs, but that would go away with movement. After my examination, Naruto smacked me on my arm pretty hard, huffing and crossing his arms.

"Teme, I told you, I'm not some helpless chick!" he grumbled.

I smirked, leaning back in the seat. "Says the one who was almost molested in an alleyway...By three males, I might add." I said teasingly.

Naruto growled at me while Itachi sent me a 'you're-doing-it-wrong' kind of look in the rear view mirror.

Bah, what did he know?

"Teme, I'm not a girl." Naruto insisted, glaring at me. I sighed.

"I know, dobe. I'm just teasing." I said.

Naruto huffed again but didn't argue, seemingly satisfied with my excuse. He looked at his lap, something he'd done since we started the ride. He refused to look out of the windows, as if he didn't want to see the world moving past him while he sat immobile.

It was an okay strategy for someone unused to, and uncomfortable in cars.

"We're almost there." Itachi called from the front, and looking up I could see our house coming into view down the street.

"I hope your parents don't mind my being there..." Naruto mumbled. I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't they? They want you there."

"Do they know my last name?" Naruto asked softly, so soft I was sure Itachi hadn't heard him, but glancing to the front I saw Itachi's curious glances.

Damn him and his super-bastard hearing.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked just as softly. Naruto fidgeted, looking at his hands.

"When people discover my last name...they usually avoid me, or make me leave the area or something..." he mumbled, looking a mix between upset and confused.

I blinked. "Why?"

"I don't know. Everyone hates me for some reason, but no one will tell me." He shrugged, looking miserable.

I frowned, my brows furrowing. That was the sort of thing Naruto had to deal with everyday? People, strangers, hating him just because of his last name?

I looked over at Itachi, surprised to see he was staring ahead intently, a strange look on his face. It was almost a mix of realization and pity.

Did he know something?

As much as I wanted to ask, I was delayed when we pulled up into the driveway, and Itachi announced us home. Naruto practically crawled over me to get out of the car, after which he fell to his knees outside and proclaimed "LAND!" dramatically.

I snickered and climbed out, tapping him on the head with my knuckles. "Dobe."

"Shut up, I'm allowed to celebrate." Naruto grinned before climbing to his feet. He looked over at the house and gaped. "This is your house?"

"Hn."

"...It's big!"

I scoffed. "It's just a house." I said dismissively, following after Itachi who was making a beeline for the front door. When he was hungry, he wasted no time, it seemed.

Naruto followed after me, still looking up at my house in awe. "Teme, compared to my place, this is like a fortress!" he said.

I shrugged and looked at him over my shoulder. "Dobe, if you actually bothered to clean your house every once in a while, it'd look a whole lot-" I was cut off when I walked face first into the wooden door which Itachi had let slam shut after he entered the house. Cursing and stumbling back, I gripped my face.

"Dammit Itachi!" I yelled angrily. Naruto was trying to stifle his laughter but was failing miserably. "Shut up." I hissed.

He gave another chuckle before controlling himself, grinning at me. "You're brother likes making you miserable doesn't he?" he asked as I pulled the door open.

I sighed. "Completely. Either that, or there's some higher power out there that's hell bent on making me suffer."

Naruto laughed as he walked past me, pausing to slip his shoes off at the doorway. "Higher power? What, like some being is sitting somewhere with a heavenly laptop, writing out all the little torments that you go through and cackling like mad?" he asked, grinning again.

I grimaced. "No...I know who the 'being' is." I said seriously.

Naruto blinked, looking confused. "You do? Who is it?"

"That blonde worker at Cafe 99." I deadpanned.

Naruto burst out laughing while I smirked. "Sure, teme, whatever. I _highly _doubt that." He said, rolling his eyes. I just shrugged and led him down the hallways, towards the kitchen.

"Stranger things have happened."

We continued to chat over the random subject as we neared the kitchen. Before we got to the archway, however, my mother came shuffling out.

She froze when her eyes landed on Naruto, and out of reflex we froze too, staring back at her.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Naruto begin to fidget, looking nervous and uncomfortable. His cheeks were also lightly tinted. He was obviously uncomfortable under my mother's shocked gaze.

I felt the urge to step in front of him, shielding him from my mother, but before I could take a step, my mother spoke.

"Sasuke...this is...your friend?" she asked slowly, her eyes never leaving Naruto, who was now staring at the floor.

I swallowed, straightening up. "Yes, mother. This is my best friend, Uzumaki Naruto." I said firmly.

Naruto's eyes flickered to me briefly at the mention of 'best friend' before he looked at my mother carefully, waiting for judgement to be passed.

My mother took a few steps forward, coming closer to him. I made to move in front of him, but she sent me a look that stopped me in my tracks.

When she was standing right in front of Naruto, she reached out and grabbed his chin gently with two fingers, forcing him to look up. I saw the slight fear in his blue eyes while my mother practically stared into his soul with her own dark onyx eyes.

I waited patiently, already expecting what was to come. After the look she'd sent me, I knew what was going to happen. Now I just had to wait.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." she began slowly. Naruto gulped.

"Y-yes Mrs. Uchiha?"

My mother stared at him even harder. "Naruto-kun...you are...without a doubt..." She grinned and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. "...The most adorable boy I've ever seen! Aside from my Sasuke, of course." She said loudly, hugging Naruto tighter.

I snickered as I looked at his face. He looked completely dumbfounded and his cheeks were having a parade of different shades of red. He was helpless against my mother's attack, and simply allowed himself to be dragged in a circle while she clutched him close, rambling on about how cute he was and how adorable he looked with his bright blue eyes and golden hair, and then she was going on about all the cute outfits she could make him wear and...oh shit, time to put an end to this before he's condemned to a hell of neko-cosplay and other such degrading things.

"Mother, he can't breathe." I said slowly, stepping forward and tapping her lightly on the shoulder. She gasped and pulled back, while Naruto took a dramatic gulp of air, stepping back as if afraid my mother would drag him into another embrace if he was too close. He stared at her, his mouth opening and closing a few times while his face decided to settle on a nice tomato red.

"Uh...t-thanks?" He said shakily, after a while. My mother smiled, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry about that. I got a bit carried away..." I coughed, sending her a look. She sighed. "Okay, I got completely carried away. I'm sorry for scaring you like that. I'm just so pleased to finally meet you!" she explained, beaming at him.

Naruto seemed to regain some composure after that, managing to tone his blush down to a light pink. He managed to give his signature grin, and I could practically hear my mother pulling the breaks on her body to stop from glomping him.

"It's alright. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Uchiha." Naruto said happily, giving a short bow.

"Oh please, call me Mikoto!" She replied. Naruto nodded.

There was a pleasant silence before it was interrupted by a loud growl. Naruto went a deeper shade of red than before and looked down at his stomach, where another grumble sounded. Laughing sheepishly, he looked up, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry..." he mumbled.

I smirked while my mother giggled, already making shepherding motions with her hands to get us in the kitchen. "Nonsense, Naruto-kun! You must be starved. Breakfast is ready, so please come in!"

Naruto stepped up beside me as we walked towards the kitchen, and we shared a glance. I smirked, he rolled his eyes, I snickered, he grinned and then we walked into the kitchen, having had a full telepathic communication then and there.

Oh, and if you're wondering what we said, it was something like this.

"You blushed like a girl, dobe."

"Shut up teme! I wasn't expecting to be glomped upon arrival by your mother."

"I didn't think she'd actually do it, but I guess I was wrong. That was funny."

"Yeah, something tells me your mom likes me."

When we stepped into the kitchen, we were met with the sight of Itachi and my father sitting at the table, the former looking slightly impatient and the latter still with his nose buried in a newspaper.

"Dear, this is Naruto-kun! He's Sasuke's best friend!" my mother introduced cheerfully.

Naruto offered a smile at my father who slowly looked up from his newspaper. The moment his dark eyes found Naruto, he tensed, and Naruto's smile slid off his face in a matter of seconds.

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze, staring at the two. I felt nervous, wondering how my father was going to react. Sure, mother loved Naruto it seemed, but that didn't mean my father would.

Slowly, my father placed his paper down, crossing his arms over the table and looking at Naruto carefully. "...Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" he asked slowly.

Naruto gulped at the mention of his surname, a nodded. "Yes sir." He said softly.

Father stared at him, his gaze locked on Naruto's face and seemingly calculating. I shifted slightly and his gaze flickered to me for a second before returning to Naruto.

Nobody blinked.

The clock ticked by, the small clicks sounding extremely loud to my ears in the otherwise deafening silence of the room.

I stared between my father and Naruto, wondering what was going to happen. Would father react the same way all the other people did? Would he tell Naruto to leave? If he did, would he ban me from seeing him ever again?

I felt a shiver of apprehension slide down my spine at that prospect, and for a moment I almost glared at my father.

Almost.

He was a bit too intimidating right now for me to muster up enough courage to be that bold.

I was starting to feel slightly hysterical in the silence, and my inner self was already biting it's nails off in anxiety and fear.

And then, I blinked, and my father turned his gaze to me with a large smirk.

"Sasuke lost."

Everyone looked at him in confusion, and he shrugged. "Well, everyone was so quiet and no one blinked, so I assumed this was some kind of staring competition. And since Sasuke was the first to blink, he lost. Game over." Father snickered at out dumbstruck expressions. "Anyway, Mikoto can we please have some food now? I'm sure we're all starving by now."

I stared in shock at my father while he lifted his newspaper once more, burying his face in it. Beside me, Naruto looked equally thrown off balance at the unexpected reaction. Itachi snickered as he looked at us.

"Oh look father. They have identical expressions on their faces." He said. My father glanced up and chortled before looking back at his paper.

"I never knew Sasuke's jaw had the ability to drop that low." He said nonchalantly.

I snapped my mouth shut with a resounding clack while Naruto slowly closed his, as if only now realizing that what had just happened, had, in fact, happened.

"So wait...that's it?" he asked. Father looked up from his paper, his eyes hinting slight amusement.

"That's what?"

"You're...fine with me? You're not going to...I don't know...kick me out?" Naruto asked, still looking shocked. My father narrowed his eyes, lowering his paper slightly.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because everyone else does." Naruto said as if it were obvious. I felt an angry pang in my chest at that fact.

Father placed his paper down and folded his arms. "Listen to me very carefully, Naruto-kun." He said in his 'listen-or-you'll-get-owned' voice.

I was familiar with that tone, and it seems even Naruto was able to sense it, for he straightened and paid close attention.

Father stared at him for a moment before he opened his mouth. "Everyone who ever removed you from their home or presence is a complete and utter idiot, and is not worth even a passing thought in your head. You are welcome in our home anytime as Sasuke's best friend. That fact alone already has you a place in our family. And I can already tell, just by looking at you, that you have a strong personality, you're determined and driven, and you have the will to accomplish anything, just like Sasuke. I'm very glad that you are his friend, and I can think of no one better to welcome into my home. Feel free to come and visit anytime you want."

If I were a lesser Uchiha, I may have cried after that. Even so, I couldn't entirely stop the warm smile I wore. I looked over at Naruto, and my smile widened at the swirl of emotions running through his face.

Disbelief.

Shock.

Joy.

Happiness.

Acceptance.

His blue eyes were shining as he held back tears. I had to commend him for retaining his manly status and not bursting into tears. I could tell that he'd never heard anyone say anything like that before, at least not from someone like my father. His hands clenched at his sides, and he was shaking with the effort to hold back joyful tears. But despite that, he managed to give us all a blinding smile that had even Itachi's cheeks dusting a light peach.

"T-thank you so much!" Naruto said, his voice almost cracking with happiness.

Father nodded, offering a rare smile. "Not at all. Now then, let's sit down and eat because I for one am starving."

We nodded, and I dragged Naruto to a chair and forced him down before swiping the seat next to him. Itachi was on his other side, one elbow leaning on the table and he rested his head on his hand, looking between me and Naruto with a small smirk on his face.

"So, I guess this means that, since Naruto-kun is a part of the family, that I can treat him the same way I treat our darling Sasuke?" he asked, his voice so sweet that sugar canes were screaming in agony.

Naruto froze, turning to look at Itachi slowly while I glared at him.

"Why of course! Treat Naruto-kun like another brother, Itachi!" Mother said cheerfully, unaware of the horrors she just condemned her new favourite blonde too.

Naruto turned to me, his eyes questioning and fearful.

I sighed, placing one hand on his shoulder and giving him a look filled with pity.

"...Just be prepared." I said.

Naruto groaned and let his head fall to the table.

Itachi just smirked.

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**~Naruto POV~**

Never before in my life had I felt so..._happy_.

Even when I'd made friends, or when Jiraiya and Iruka and all the others had come to accept me and like me, had I felt this happy. Sitting at the table with the Uchiha's, I felt...at home.

When Fugaku, as I was told to call him, had given that short speech, I could've sworn I was having a dream. But unknown to everyone else, I'd actually almost bitten my tongue off in an attempt to wake up. The pain that had filled my mouth was enough to assure me that this was real.

And then bam, I was hit with a ton of emotions all at once, and I now realized why girls cried so easily, since they often said girls felt more emotions than guys.

Who actually said that, I'm not sure, but whatever. That's irrelevant.

Breakfast was an enjoyable experience, and I took the time to get to know all of them. Mikoto seemed to have fallen in adoration with me.

I don't think it's appropriate to say love, but she definitely adores me, so adoration will work.

Throughout breakfast, she continued to ask me random things, and more than once I'd had to ask Sasuke what she was talking about, since I'd gotten lost halfway through the question.

But despite the multiple questions and cheek-pinching-sneak attacks she managed to get in-that woman was a ninja in a past life- I already found myself adoring Mikoto. She was such a cool mother, with the way she was all bright and bubbly, but she still had a hold over the boys. This had been demonstrated when Itachi had made some comment about something or another, Sasuke had gotten pissed at him, the two had begun to argue, but Mikoto and cleared her throat, given them a look and both of them were cowering in their seats with their tails between their legs.

Later, I was so going to ask her to teach me that look. It would be so useful!

Itachi was, as Sasuke had mentioned before, a devil in disguise. Although he'd restrained himself from doing anything to me, he hadn't wasted any opportunity to do something sinister to Sasuke. It was no surprise that Sasuke snapped after a few moments.

One can only take so many pieces of French toast thrown at their cheeks, after all.

When the eighth piece of French toast 'magically' appeared atop Sasuke's head, he peeled it off and glared at Itachi.

"Mother, Itachi's wasting food." He said.

I did a double take.

Sasuke was _telling_ on him?

_That_ was his epic way of getting back at Itachi?

By telling his _mom_?

...

I was so confused!

"Are you serious?" I hissed to him so only he could hear, but he only sent me a 'shut-up' glare before looking at his mom.

Mikoto had turned away from the stove and was looking disapprovingly at Itachi. "Itachi, you know I don't like it when you boys waste food." She scolded.

Itachi frowned. "What makes you think I didn't just eat it and Sasuke's just being a prat?" he asked.

Fugaku was the first one to snort. "Itachi, you never eat that fast, and even if you did, Sasuke has learned table manners. He wouldn't smear syrup over his own face just for the fun of it." He said gruffly.

Itachi sent his father a look that clearly read 'traitor' before turning to his mother, bowing his head in apology. "I'm sorry."

Mikoto nodded. "And for calling your little brother a prat, in front of a guest no less, you have dish-washing duty today." She said firmly before turning around.

Itachi groaned and sent a glare at Sasuke before he picked up his plate and made his way to the sink.

I watched as he prepared the water before a slight nudge in my side made me turn. I looked at Sasuke, who was smirking and he motioned his plate. I looked down at his food and held back a laugh.

He'd arranged all his strips of French toast into a 'V' sign for his victory.

Snickered, I gave him a low five under the table before returning to my own food.

Somehow, it tasted even better now.

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**Lololololololololololol! Aaah, I wasn't sure how to end this chapter, so it might feel a bit awkward...DAAAhahahahahahahah**

**Next chapter will be better, and hopefully, longer! Not sure when it'll be out, but I'm feeling more driven to write lately, so that's always a good sign! ^^**

**Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing! It really helps and makes me HAPPY! ^^, I have something to look forward to everyday!... O_o and I also just proved that I have no life...huh...**

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	17. Chapter 17

**I had fun writing this chapter... I really did. So I hope you have fun reading it!**

**Lol, things are going to be picking up now for Naruto and Sasuke... :D Look forward to it!**

**Warnings: slight OOCness but hey, it makes it all the more funny, so I won't complain,**

**Disclaimer: Don't own. :(**

**Online!  
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Sasuke's room was almost exactly as I'd imagined it would be. Dark blue walls, blue bed, black computer, posters of that metal band Curse Mark and even a shelf filled with books that looked longer than anything I'd ever read in my entire life.

Sasuke walked in, slumping down on his bed. "Welcome to my Lair. Please note that you have entered at your own risk, and any accidents that happen are not my fault." He said with a smirk. I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Regular ball of sunshine aren't you?" I teased and he shook his head.

"No that's your job, dobe." He retorted. I grinned.

"Aw, so sweet of you! You think I'm a ball of sunshine?" I said, fluttering my eyes.

Sasuke scoffed. "More like a ball of energy." He lay back, sighing.

I sat down at his computer desk, looking around. I paused when a small chalkboard caught my eye. On it were two columns with numbers, looking like a scoreboard.

Above each column was a name.

Sasuke and Itachi.

"What is that?" I asked pointing to it. Sasuke looked up and smirked.

"The score. Actually, can you chalk up another point for me?" he said.

I chuckled, reaching over and drawing another one under Sasuke's name. Reading the scores, I grinned. "It looks like you guys are tied."

Sasuke groaned. "Damn, I was hoping I'd be one up from him." He mumbled.

Grinning, I stood up and walked over to the bed before jumping onto it, landing next to him. "So, what should we do?"

Sasuke turned to look at me. "We could play online for a bit?" he offered. I nodded and he moved to go get his computer started. While he was waiting for it to boot up, I decided to explore a bit.

First I felt under his pillows, hoping to find a diary to use as blackmail, but sadly there was nothing.

Damn.

After that failed, I wiggled over to the edge of the bed and stuck my head over, looking underneath. I thought I could see what looked like some magazines.

"I found your porn!" I cried loudly, reaching underneath to snatch at the books. I heard Sasuke snort loudly and looked up to see him grinning. "What?"

"It's not mine." He said.

I raised an eyebrow and pulled the books up. Sure enough, they were playboy magazines, and the woman featured were all busty and sexy.

It did little for me though. I wasn't into this kind of thing.

"If it's not yours then whose is it?" I asked, scanning the front covers before looking up at him.

Sasuke's grin got a bit wider. "They're Itachi's."

I laughed out loud, dropping the books and shoving them back under the bed out of sight. "And you stole them why?" I gasped.

Sasuke's grin was downright sadistic now. "I was planning on letting mother 'accidentally' find them somewhere in his room while he was out." He said.

I felt my grin was threatening to split my face in half. "Want some help?"

Sasuke smirked. "Sure."

* * *

I was waiting at the foot of the stairs, hidden from view from those at the bottom. Sasuke was back upstairs, setting everything up. I peeked around the corner, seeing Itachi was still working with the dishes while Mikoto and Fugaku were chatting idly. I admit, I smirked at seeing Itachi struggle to clean a crusty pan.

I've barely spent an hour in this house and already I feel the sibling rivalry rubbing off on me.

There were soft footsteps behind me before Sasuke appeared, also peeking around the corner and smirking. "It's all ready." He whispered.

I grinned. "Okay. Are you sure I should be the one to call her? Why can't you just go straight up to her?" I asked.

He shook his head. "If I go up to her and say that I need to tell her something important, Itachi'll know I've planned something. He knows my expressions to well." He explained.

I gave him a look. "You have expressions?" I asked.

Sasuke poked my side harshly. "Shut up dobe, now hurry!" he hissed, pushing me down the last step.

I chuckled and walked towards the kitchen, before steeling my face into an innocent look. "Uh, Mikoto?" I called, peeking just my head in.

Mikoto looked around and gasped as she saw me. I could practically see the words 'He's so cute!' flashing in her eyes. She darted over to me, leaving an amused Fugaku behind and blinked at me.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" she asked sweetly.

I gave a sheepish smile. "Uh, Sasuke said he had something he needed to show you, but he didn't want to come downstairs..." I said, looking at her with glimmering eyes.

She melted under my gaze and petted me affectionately on the head before nodding. "Thank you for telling me. I'll go and see what he wants now." She said before walking past, seeming to trail sparkles behind.

Once she was out of sight, I looked over at Itachi, who was watching me curiously.

My innocent face turned wicked, and I swear I saw him gulp before he glared.

Okay, that glare scared me, I'll admit. So I quickly left, hoping to keep my life for a few more hours before Itachi could kill me with the crusty pan he was trying to wash.

Quickly making my way upstairs, I slowed down when I heard Sasuke talking in low tones.

"...and I was just checking to see if he had my dictionary when I found these. I thought you should know about it..." he was saying.

I held back a grin and waited outside the door of Itachi's room, where the two Uchiha's were talking. Mikoto was silent for a moment before she spoke, her voice seeming refined.

"Thank you for letting me know Sasuke. I appreciate this. Now, please go and spend time with Naruto-kun. It's not nice to leave him alone. Oh, and Sasuke?"

I leant closer, wondering what she was going to say. She'd sounded almost teasing when she addressed him. Sure enough, there was some hesitation in Sasuke's voice when he answered.

"Yes?"

"...You and Naruto make a really cute couple. I just thought I'd let you know." She said, her voice filled with giggles.

I felt my face go red.

We were a cute couple? What was she talking about? Sasuke and I weren't a couple!

"M-mother! I told you we're not like that!" Sasuke hissed, sounding embarrassed.

Wait...Sasuke was embarrassed? I didn't even imagine he could feel that emotion.

Oh well, this place was just _full _of surprises!

Mikoto was laughing, and I could hear Sasuke grumbling under his breath.

"Of course not. At least...Not yet, dear." Mikotot said, and I heard what sounded like Sasuke back into a wooden drawer or something.

Not yet? What was Mikoto going on about? Did she think that Sasuke and I were...

No way. She couldn't think that!

I mean...sure Sasuke and I were pretty close, but we didn't give off that type of vibe...did we?

I thought back to all the times we'd been together, whether alone or around others.

Often when we were together, we'd fight. Nothing serious, just petty or playful arguments that had more to do with us being rivals than being angry. But when we weren't fighting we were great friends.

I swallowed, leaning back a bit.

Sasuke...didn't really smile a lot when there were others around...

But when it was just the two of us, he seemed to smile a lot easier. Hell, I've seen him grin.

And he was also really gentle when we're alone. After a physical fight, once we've gotten over the topic, he'd often be the one putting the plasters on my cuts or gently feeling my bruises.

And Sasuke also seemed to look at me a lot more. Sometimes his eyes lingered a bit longer than necessary, but I'd never put much thought to it.

Were Sasuke and I...really like a couple? Is that really how others saw us?

...Did I want that to be how they saw us?

I felt rather confused, but I wasn't able to dwell on it since I heard what sounded like the two inside the room coming towards the door.

Making a split second decision, I ran across to Sasuke's room and quickly dived on the bed, willing away any redness on my face and steeling myself.

Sure enough, a few minutes later Sasuke walked into the room, looking a bit grumpy. He sat down at the computer.

I looked at him, and he looked at me and for a moment there was silence.

Well, silence except for the faint cry of a newborn gay baby that is.

After a moment, in which we both seemed to be at a loss, there came the sound of stomping footsteps before the door was roughly shoved open by a murderous Itachi.

"I'm going to kill you both!" he snapped.

Our moment of awkwardness was gone in favour of Sasuke and I fleeing the room, barely escaping Itachi's angry clutches as he chased us down the hall, down the stairs, through the kitchen and finally around the garden. I was both screeching in fear and laughing in excitement while Sasuke varied between cursing under his breath, yelling out when he was almost caught and snickered tauntingly at Itachi over his shoulder while he ran.

Itachi, for his part, looked like a raging Minotaur, ready to tear us apart slowly before roasting us over a fire and feeding us to his young.

Even as I narrowly avoided his hands as he tried to grab me by the scruff of the neck, I caught sight of Mikoto standing in the doorway, laughing, and Fugaku watching us with an amused smirk while he absently turned a page of his paper.

My heart swelled as I realized that, for the first time in my entire life...

I had a family.

* * *

Itachi chased us around the garden, the house, and at one point the neighbours garden until twelve. By then, all three of us were out of breath, panting and exhausted, not to mention hungry. After coming to a truce of 'Itachi could attempt to kill us when we were all fed, rested and ready to defend our lives and balls', the three of us trudged our way back into the Uchiha kitchen. Mikoto was already working on making the food while Fugaku was actually dressed and standing, talking on the phone to someone.

Itachi walked in first, managing to reach the table before he collapsed, placing his head in his arms.

Fugaku spared him a glance before he reached down and ruffled his hair, continuing to talk to whoever was on the phone. He smirked as he heard Itachi's disapproving groan and only stopped his actions when Itachi started swatting at his hand.

I only managed to get into the kitchen before my foot caught on something and I fell to the floor. Sasuke, who had been walking right behind me tripped over me and landed on top of me, squishing me between the floor and his body. I huffed out a groan.

"Sasukeee...you're heavy." I whined. He grunted, but didn't move.

"Too tired..." he mumbled. I pouted against the cold tile floor and weakly reached up to smack his head.

"Off." I ordered. Sasuke groaned again but complied and rolled to the side, landing next to me. His eyes were closed and he looked ready to fall asleep.

I sighed and closed my eyes, letting my body have a little bit of rest. I was glad the kitchen was rather large, since we weren't in the way. Mikoto chuckled at us and I cracked open an eye and gave her a grin, which only made her giggle again.

"You two are so funny together, really. The last time I saw the boys chase each other was when Itachi was fourteen, and Sasuke had eaten his chemistry homework." She said.

I snorted and looked at Sasuke incredulously. "You _ate _your brother's _homework_?" I asked.

Sasuke peeked an eye open. "I didn't mean to, really." He mumbled. I raised an eyebrow.

"How can you not mean to eat someone's homework? It's not really something one can do by accident." I pointed out. Sasuke shrugged.

"I'd spilled my chocolate milk over his papers. I'd really wanted that milk, so I thought that since the papers absorbed it, they'd taste like chocolate milk." He admitted.

I burst out laughing, clutching my stomach and rolling on the floor a bit. Sasuke glared at me while Mikoto watched with sparkly eyes.

"You...You...Oh my _word_, that's hilarious!" I gasped, hitting the ground a few times. Sasuke huffed and pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"Not really. It's because of that that chocolate is ruined for me. That was the most disgusting thing I'd ever tasted." He said, making a face at the memory.

That sent me into a new wave of laughter, and I was sure I'd suffocate if I didn't stop soon.

"Oi, oi what's this, un? The sound of joyful laughter in the Uchiha residence? I thought that was my job, un!" a voice called from the hallway.

We all looked towards the hallway door, my laughter stopping shortly when two people walked in.

One was a thin blonde man. His hair was long and tied back in a ponytail but some was loose and fell over his eye. He was wearing a blue shirt and black jeans, and on his hands were fingerless gloves. There was a design on the palms of the gloves, making it looked like he had a mouth with a tongue on each hand.

Behind him was one of the weirdest people I'd ever seen. He had spiked blue hair, was wearing dark blue jeans and a light blue shirt with a wave emblem on it. But the real eye catcher was the fact that his skin seemed to be slightly tinged blue, and he had weird eyes. He reminded me of a fish or some kind.

Both of the men seemed to spot me instantly, although I couldn't blame them. In a kitchen full of pale, raven Uchiha's, I stuck out like a circle amongst squares.

"Oh! Who's this, un?" the blonde asked, walking over to where Sasuke and I were still on the floor and crouching down in front of us. He reached out, taking my chin in his forefinger and thumb and tilting my head up to look at him.

I swear I heard Sasuke growl off to my right, but it seemed this guy was either deaf or didn't care.

"Deidara, let him go." Sasuke snapped.

...The blonde, Deidara, must be deaf. He didn't even acknowledge Sasuke was there.

"You're a new face, un. What's your name?" Deidara asked.

"Uh, Naruto..." I said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Just Naruto?" he drawled. I swallowed, before frowning.

"Yeah. Just Naruto." I said firmly.

Deidara looked ready to argue, but after a moment he smirked. "Okay, 'Just Naruto'. Well, I'm Katsuhiko Deidara. It's nice to meet you, un." He said, finally letting go of my face and backing away, only to hold out his hand. I stared at it for a moment before shrugging and reaching out to shake it.

"Nice to meet you too."

Deidara nodded and finally turned to look at Sasuke, who was glaring at him. "Oh, Baby Uchiha! I didn't see you there!" he said, but by the grin on his face that was obvious bullshit.

Sasuke sneered at him. "Don't you have some poor children to terrorise?" he asked. Deidara grinned again.

"But of course! You!" he said, reaching forward and trying to pull Sasuke into a headlock.

Keyword be '_trying_'. As soon as his hands got near Sasuke's face, Sasuke tried to bite him.

He succeeded.

Deidara let out a yelp as Sasuke caught his arm. The bite was so quick, one wouldn't even see it if they weren't as close as I was, and Sasuke pulled away so fast it as if he'd never moved at all. But I knew by the smirk on his face that'd he accomplished the task.

Deidara cradled his bitten hand, pouting at Sasuke. "You're so mean to me, un." He said with fake sadness. Sasuke scoffed, pulling himself to his feet and reaching down to pull me up to.

As his hand closed around my arm, I couldn't help but focus on the touch.

There it was again.

Even though he was gripping my arm, it was gentle. As if, instead of forcing me up, he was coaxing me to stand up.

And even though I was on my feet, his hand stayed around my arm for a few moments before it moved away, dragging down my arm slightly before breaking away completely.

Although I hadn't watched it, I could feel it. But I was watching Deidara, and sure enough I saw his eyes dart to my arm, watching Sasuke's movements before they went back to his face. And there was a knowing gleam in his storm blue eyes now.

"So, Sasuke...Naruto is your friend, un?" Deidara asked, looking between us.

"Yes." Sasuke answered. I nodded in response as well, grinning before wrapping my arm over Sasuke's shoulders.

"Yep! Even though he can be a real jerk, he's still worthy of being around my awesomeness!" I said. Deidara laughed along with Mikoto and I was sure I heard Itachi chuckle. Sasuke elbowed me in the side and I stumbled away, coughing.

"You're a pretty funny guy." Deidara said. "I like you."

I tilted my head. "Uh..."

Sasuke was glaring at him again.

Deidara, after a few moments, realized he needed to elaborate. "Not like that, un! I meant like a friend, or a kid brother, un." He amended with a grin.

I laughed, nodding before pausing. "...Hey! I'm not a kid!" I said indignantly.

Everyone laughed, even Sasuke snickered.

I pouted and crossed my arms. "Tch, Uchiha's." I grumbled. I glanced at Deidara and the blue guy. "And their friends." I added.

The blue guy finally stepped up. "Hi, I'm Hoshigaki Kisame. I figured since this moron," he pushed Deidara out of the way, ignoring the cry of protest and extended his hand, "isn't introducing me, I might as well do it. Nice to meet you Naruto." He finished.

I nodded and shook his hand. "You too."

"Kisame! I was going to introduce you!" Deidara said from the side. Kisame rolled his eyes.

"When?"

"When I was finished, un!"

"With what?"

"With talking, un!"

"With who?"

"With- You're doing it again, un!" Deidara yelled, pointing accusingly at the grinning blue man.

I snickered while the two started arguing.

There was a faint tug on my sleeve, and I saw Sasuke motioning for us to leave. "Let's go wash up before we eat." He said, motioning to the few stains of dirt on our bodies from when we'd been chased.

Hey, it was hard to keep your balance perfect when you had a pissed of weasel on your tail.

I followed Sasuke out the kitchen and towards the stairs. While we were going up the stairs, I was thinking about earlier, with what Mikoto has said, and then all the things Sasuke did around me he never do around others.

Was Sasuke even gay? That was definitely an important question in this.

After all, he might just be the type of friend that, when they're really close to you, they're affectionate. Like me.

I mean, I'm constantly hugging Sakura, and even Kiba sometimes. I've glomped Shikamaru once at school, just to see what he'd do-he just let us fall to the ground and refused to get up, saying he wanted a nap- and with Sasuke I've been close to him plenty of times. He's given me a piggyback ride, he's carried me in his arms, we've bumped into each other several times and we've shared the same bed.

My eyes widened. We'd even cuddled in our sleep that one time!

Was that when it had started?

But what did it mean?

Was Sasuke straight and just secretly affectionate, or was he gay and...secretly affectionate?

I was so busy thinking, I didn't pay attention to where I was going, and ended up taking a step...that wasn't there.

I started to fall forwards, putting my hands out in front of me to stop my fall, but before I could Sasuke had whirled around and caught me.

"Dobe! Can't you ever focus?" he snapped, but it didn't sound angry. More as if he was scolding me. As if it mattered if I was clumsy or not.

"Teme! I just miscounted the steps, that's all!" I retorted.

Sasuke 'hn-ed' and shook his head. He was still holding onto my shoulders.

"..."

"..."

"Uh, Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"...You can let go now." I said, pointing to his hands.

For a moment, he looked surprised, as if he hadn't realised he was holding me, and that might well have been the case. But either way, he quickly let go and I straightened up. Sasuke was already walking towards the bathroom, calling over his shoulder. "Hurry up, dobe. I'm hungry."

I followed after him. "Shut up teme, I already know that!"

I saw Sasuke smirk, but...it wasn't smug or condescending.

It was...

I sighed and rubbed a hand over my face. This was going to be confusing, I just knew it. But I had a new mission.

I had to find out what Sasuke and I truly were.

* * *

**Dun dun duuuuuuun, lol no not really. So, how was it? Hope you enjoyed it, ne?**

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	18. Chapter 18

**Uwaaaaah! I just got SMASHED WITH INSPIRATION for this! I've been on a writing spree for Online, so I'm updating so quickly! XDDD Yay for you lovely readers!**

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* * *

It was time for lunch, and from what I could hear, it seemed that Fugaku's work associates had arrived. The sound of greetings, a few jokes and laughter was audible from my place at the top of the stairs. Sasuke was changing his shirt, and after hearing what Mikoto had said earlier, I just couldn't bring myself to look. I'd already checked Sasuke out before, but that was when I was sure we were nothing more than friends.

But now, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that we seemed to be just a bit more.

I wouldn't call us a couple. No, definitely not. We were missing the key components of a couple, you know, like knowing you like the person who likes you back, acknowledging each other as boyfriend and, in this would be case, boyfriend. We were missing that, but we weren't exactly just friends.

The small things between us, barely noticeable unless one were to look very carefully, and have a clue as to where to start. Without those, I figured we most likely seemed to be very close best friends. And yet, Mikoto had commented on us being a cute couple.

That left me with only three conclusions.

One: We were a _lot _closer than I thought, and were giving off the wrong vibes.

Two: Sasuke had, possibly, said something to his mother that would give her that impression. Maybe he said he thought I was good looking? A passing comment? Just something that would possibly mislead her to thinking we were more than friends.

Or three:...Mikoto was going senile early.

Honestly, I wasn't sure which option I was rooting for.

That brought me back to the war going on inside my own head. How did I feel about this?

Did I dislike the idea of Sasuke and I being a couple? Or did I really, actually want it?

I didn't even know myself. When I tried to picture us together, I only saw us acting the way we had until now, so I wasn't sure if I could really bank on my feelings.

I closed my eyes, groaning in frustration. This was all so confusing and it was bound to give me a headache.

I leant against the wall at the top of the stairs and frowned in thought. Suddenly, something Sakura once said to me came floating back through my memory.

"_Eh? You're not sure if you like someone? Well, one way you can see, is picture yourself kissing that person, or maybe doing something a bit more, and see how that makes you feel! If you feel weird in a bad way, then it must not be real, but if it makes you feel weird in a good way, then you must feel something for them!_"

I frowned even more. "But...I'm not sure if that works..."

Oh well, might as well try it.

I closed my eyes again and picture Sasuke and I together. Okay, so far so good.

Now, I imagined us leaning closer.

That was no issue. We'd gotten up in each other's faces plenty of times before.

And now, imagine him...imagine him...

_Kissing _me...

I could see it.

I could see his eyes, narrow and blazing with a flaming fire of passion. I could feel his lips, slightly chapped pressing against mine, softly at first, before growing more fierce and pushing back even harder. My heart was thudding loudly in my ears and I could feel a moan welling up in my throat-

"Dobe, what're you doing?"

My eyes snapped open only to see narrowed onyx orbs peering curiously at me from only a few centimetres away.

The shock came too quickly and I couldn't stop myself.

I screamed in Sasuke's face.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Sasuke jolted back, his eyes widening momentarily in surprise before narrowing in annoyance due to my loud volume.

"Dobe! What the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped, covering one ear and glaring at me. I panted, clutching at my heart while staring at him.

"T-Teme! You surprised me! W-what were you doing?" I stammered.

Shit, my face was burning and I was shaking.

Had I really gotten that far into the imagining? And what's more...I hadn't been put off by the thought of Sasuke kissing me. In fact, if I were to be completely honest...

I really _liked _it.

Sasuke cocked his head to the side slightly. "I should be asking you that. What's with you screaming in my face?" he retorted.

I flinched, letting the embarrassment and idiocy catch up with me. I scratched the back of my head sheepishly, my blush only intensifying. "Ehe...uh, sorry?" I tried.

Sasuke frowned, looking ready to say something else, but he was interrupted by footsteps before two people appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"Naruto-kun! Are you alright? I heard you shouting!" Mikoto asked, her voice filled with concern. Behind her, Deidara was looking up at us, his eyes trained on me.

"Yeah, un! You're not getting harassed by Baby Uchiha are you?" he called.

Sasuke glared down at him. "Deidara, shut up!" he snapped, only eliciting a grin from the blonde.

I looked down apologetically at Mikoto, feeling ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Mikoto. I just got a bit of a fright, that's all. I'm sorry for worrying you." I said. Mikoto sighed and quickly walked up the stairs.

For a moment, I was sure she was going to scold me, or hit me, like the caretakers in the orphanage used to do when I was disruptive, and I couldn't hold back the wince when she reached out. But she ignored it and pulled me into a hug instead.

"Of course not, Naruto-kun. There's no need to be sorry. I'm glad you're okay." She said softly, stroking my hair a bit.

My eyes widened against her shoulder, and once again the warmth spread through my chest as I realized that this was like a family for me. I had a family with these people.

My arms acted of their own accord, and weakly patted her on the back as I let out a choked "Thanks." Mikoto nodded against my face before withdrawing. She patted my shoulders before stepping back and looking at us both.

"Now then, lunch is ready! Boys, please try not to be too rowdy, as your father does have important business to discuss with his colleagues, so just be civil. I've already told Itachi the same." She said.

I nodded, once again feeling the warmth at the fact she hadn't pointed out the fact that Fugaku wasn't my father at all.

With another smile, Mikoto walked back down the stairs and followed Deidara to the kitchen.

Sasuke and I shared a look before he smiled slightly. "You heard her. Let's be civil." He said, his smile changing to a slight smirk before he started down the stairs. "Come on, Naruto."

I nodded, starting to follow him, my eyes trained on his back.

In my mind, I couldn't get rid of the image of us kissing.

* * *

Lunch was an odd affair.

As soon as Sasuke and I walked into the kitchen, all of Fukagu's work colleagues looked up, smiling, only to shift their smiles to a disapproving frown upon sight of me.

I gulped, already inching backwards. I would just stay in the bathroom until lunch was over. Hopefully Mikoto would be able to save a few scraps of food for me.

However, before I could find freedom, someone came up behind me, blocking my way and placing their hands on my shoulders. I blinked and look up, only to see Fugaku, his eyes hard as he stared down his colleagues.

"Everyone, this is Uzumaki Naruto, my youngest son's best friend and a very special guest in my house." He said, his tone challenging anyone to question him.

His colleagues cowered under his gaze, and manage to ease their frowns into forced lines as they nodded to me in greeting.

I nodded back, offering a slight smile. "Nice to meet you all." I said.

There were only noncommittal grunts in return.

I sighed, my shoulder slumping. Guess even the Uchiha house couldn't completely change things.

Fugaku squeezed my shoulders slightly before he moved forwards to take his place at the head of the large table. From what I could see, it looked like it would be Fugaku, Mikoto, his colleagues, then Itachi and his friends, and finally Sasuke and I.

Good seating arrangement.

"Fugaku dear," Mikoto called even as she began to set out plates. Fugaku looked up, nodding for her to continue. "If there's nothing important that you'll need to discuss with me, I'd like to sit next to Naruto-kun today." She finished, smiling at me. I smiled back and Fugaku nodded.

"Sure. Just try not to force feed him, Mikoto." He said, smirking at my sudden panicked look.

Mikoto pouted at him, but continued to dish out the food while the rest of us took our seats.

Sasuke and I sat at the end, the chair on my left now being reserved for Mikoto. Itachi sat on the chair next to her seat, looking across at Kisame.

Deidara, it seemed, had wanted to sit next to me too, as he grumbled for a while minute over the fact that Mikoto had gotten the chair before sitting next to Sasuke almost resignedly.

"I guess this will be close enough, since I'm sure Sasuke won't switch with me." He said, looking imploringly at Sasuke.

Sasuke just sipped his water, ignoring Deidara's very existence expertly.

I snickered at the blonde's depressed look. "Don't worry, Deidara, we can still talk even if you are oh so very far away." I said reassuringly.

Deidara beamed and reached over the table to tug on my sleeve. "Oi, Naru, what do you think of art, un?" he asked.

I saw Sasuke stiffen at the nickname, and added it to my ever growing list of 'couple-y' things we did. He seemed to get annoyed every time someone was overly friendly with me. Sakura had once told me she thought Sasuke was going to shout at her after she'd hugged me for over ten minutes just for fun.

I decided to let this play out and see where it went.

Offering a smile to Deidara, I replied, knowing full well I might pay for this later. "I think art is really cool, Dei."

Sure enough, Sasuke's glare was whipped from Deidara straight to me, and I had to hold back a nervous laugh as those dark eyes practically set fire to my skin.

Deidara whooped happily, jumping from his seat and leaning across the table to ruffle my hair. "That's great, un! You should come over to my house sometime and I'll show you my stuff!" he said.

I snorted and covered my mouth, feeling some heat rush to my face. Somehow, that sentence had just sounded a bit wrong. It seemed Sasuke thought the same, for he swatted Deidara's hand away roughly and pushed him back into his seat.

"Keep your paedophile thoughts to yourself, you weirdo." He snapped, leaning forward in his seat so he was shielding me slightly.

Deidara looked confused before it caught up with him, and he quickly started rambling an explanation, his cheeks a bit pink.

"N-No! You've got it wrong, un! I meant show him my fireworks and sparklers, un!" he said.

I began snickering, trying to muffle the sound as much as possible with my hands. Sasuke was looking even angrier by the seconds.

"You sick person!" He growled at a now very embarrassed, very annoyed Deidara.

"Dammit, stop taking everything I say the wrong way, un!" he growled, leaning over and swatting at us both.

I leant away, gasping out an apology. "S-sorry! It's just...it sounded weird...that's all!" I said between chuckles.

Deidara crossed his arms and pouted. "Still it was mean, un." He whined. Sasuke just stared at the ceiling briefly before scooting his chair over closer to mine. I froze, staring at him.

"Dobe, move your chair over towards that side." Sasuke ordered. I frowned in confusion but did as he said either way. Deidara let out a high pitched whine.

"Hey! Don't take him away from me, un!" he said indignantly.

Sasuke glared at him. "He isn't yours!" he snapped. I swear I saw Deidara's eyes flash almost triumphantly before he replied with-

"He isn't yours either, un!"

"Yes he is-" Sasuke stopped himself abruptly, his mouth clacking shut loudly in the silence reigning over our end of the table. I stared at Sasuke, who was glaring at Deidara, who was smirking triumphantly.

For a moment, we all stared at each other, the silence growing heavier and heavier, and I could almost see the storm cloud of doom gathering over Sasuke's head.

"Sasu-"

"Okay boys, here we go! Now, let's eat!" Mikoto chirped happily, placing our food in front of us and taking her seat next to me, almost immediately pulling me closer and holding up a forkful of potato salad. "Naruto-kun, you have to try this!" she said cheerily.

I glanced over at the other two, but they were already looking at their food, preparing to eat. Just as I looked back at Mikoto, I saw Sasuke's eyes dart to us.

I nodded slowly and opened my mouth, letting her manoeuvre the food in. It tasted great and I nodded in thanks, but since she was still holding the fork, I only succeeded in getting some of the mayonnaise on the corner of my mouth. Mikoto giggled while I frowned, but before I could reach up to wipe it off, a pale thumb was swiping at the corner of my mouth.

"Hn. Dobe."

I snapped my head around, watching in shock as Sasuke brought the saucy digit to his lips and sucked quickly, ridding it of the sauce before he resumed his eating. He hadn't even been watching me while he did that, so he obviously missed the lovely shade of magenta I went after watching him.

I heard Mikoto giggling softly behind me, and I saw Deidara looking at Sasuke smugly.

Snapping myself out of my staring, I turned back to my food, taking the fork out of my mouth and aiming for the potato salad.

I could still feel Sasuke's thumb against my mouth.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I groaned, splashing water onto my face from the running tap before leaning against the sink. Lunch was still going on, but I'd had to excuse myself.

The water dripped down my face, neck and finally soaking into my shirt. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, easily seeing the hint of lust in my own eyes, but it was hard not to get that when I was sitting so close to Naruto, and watching him.

Not that he knew that.

But dammit, the idiot looked gorgeous when he was eating. Especially since, with his clumsiness, he often got little spots of sauce or something else around his mouth.

I'd been able to handle it, just by simply ignoring it. But it was hard to ignore the last time. Naruto had been about to put a ridiculously large amount of potato salad into his mouth when Deidara had called him. Being the idiot he is, he looked around ever as his fork reached his mouth, and the moron ended up spreading the mayonnaise all over his cheek.

While the others laughed, and mother handed him a napkin, and Naruto grinned sheepishly, I had been transfixed.

Seeing the white substance splashed across his cheek had stirred memories of dreams I'd had, and it was by pure willpower alone that I had refrained from grabbing him and licking that sauce clear off his face, consequences be damned.

But it had not been that easy to leave the table, especially since I was half hard from the display. It was a good thing I'd left right before he started cleaning it off. The idiot had decided to use his fingers for the job, and Lord only knows what would happen to me if I watched him sucking the white sauce off his digits.

I shuddered at the mental image and bent my knees so my head was resting against the cool porcelain of the sink.

"...Dobe!" I hissed.

He was going t be the death of me.

The sudden knock on the door startled me, and I barely had time to stand before the door swung open and Itachi walked inside, closing the door behind him.

"Hn. Little brother, that was certainly a close call." He said, leaning against the door and crossing his arms.

I scowled. "What do you want?"

"Mother and Naruto are getting concerned about you, since you're taking too long. Mother told me to come and check if you were okay." He said.

I scoffed, but then paused. "Mother...and Naruto?" I inquired.

He smirked and nodded. "Yes, even your precious little blonde is concerned. After all, when you walked off, you looked ready to collapse." He grinned sadistically. "And that limp was quite worrying."

I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

Hey, do not laugh at me! It's not all that easy to walk normally with a semi hard on between your legs.

"Shit..." I grumbled.

Itachi hummed. "But I couldn't help but notice the fact that he seems to be watching you a lot more."

I snapped my head up, staring at him. "What?"

"He's been sneaking glances at you since lunch started, and more than once he's blushed when you almost caught him. And earlier, with your little stunt of swiping his mouth, he went redder than Sasori's hair." Itachi said, smirking at my expression.

Was he serious? Naruto was checking me out and blushing?

Did...did this mean that maybe I had an even better chance at being more than friends with him?

Itachi smirked as he opened the door. "Come along, little brother. Lunch will get cold." He said, leaving the door open for me.

I swallowed and walked out after padding my face dry, but not completely. It was time for a test.

I walked back into the kitchen, and sure enough my mother and Naruto turned to look at me. Mother smiled, glad I was alright before turning back to her food. However, Naruto kept staring at me, and while I pretended not to notice, I felt the way his eyes followed the small droplets of water down my neck.

Inwardly, I cheered. This was definitely looking good for me. If Naruto was starting to watch me...like that...then my chances of getting him to go out with me were increasing tenfold!

I sat down; trying hard not to smirk at the fact that Naruto was still gaping at me.

Lunch went on as usual, and eventually everyone was finished. Mother had just started clearing away the dishes with Itachi's help-another score for me- when Naruto's cell phone started to ring.

He pulled it out and flipped it open, placing it to his ear. "Hello?"

"UZUMAKI NARUTO WHERE THE _HELL ARE YOU_?"

Sakura's screaming voice was loud enough for even my father to hear over at the other end of the table, and everyone looked over. Naruto held the phone at arm's length, wincing as Sakura continued to scream.

"-AND I COME OVER TO FIND YOU DISSAPPEARED WITHOUT A WORD THIS MORNING?"

Naruto winced again before feebly trying to speak. His voice came out a bit weak, obviously from the surprise of having someone scream into your eardrum.

"S-Sakura-chan..." he started, but he was interrupted by a loud gasp from her end.

"You sound hurt! What's wrong? Are you _okay_? DID SOMEONE _TOUCH _YOU?" Sakura's frantic voice screeched, and once again Naruto held the phone away, looking at me helplessly. I sighed and held out my hand, taking the phone and cautiously holding it to my own ear, well aware that everyone was watching us.

"Sakura, it's me, Sasuke." I began.

"Huh? Sasuke-kun? What're you-" I heard the phone being yanked away, and I raised a brow in confusion before-

"_UCHIHA_! WHERE DID YOU TAKE NARUTO? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM YOU SICKO! I SWEAR IF YOU HURT HIM I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND RIP OUT YOUR INTESTINES AND THEN FEED THEM TO AKAMARU AND THE REST BEFORE USING YOUR REMAINS TO-"

I covered the phone's speaker with my hand, not wanting everyone to hear what else Kiba was planning to do to me should he find something wrong with Naruto.

Speaking of, I glanced at the blonde only to find him hitting his head on the table repeatedly.

"Dobe, he's your friend, you sort him out." I said, handing the phone back. Naruto stopped his self-punishment to give me a slight glare.

"Teme, he's your friend too."

"Not right now he isn't. Were you not listening?" I pointed out, removing my hand from the speaker.

"-AND THEN ONCE THAT'S OVER WITH, I'M GOING TO TAKE YOUR PALE ASS AND SHOVE IT-"

"Hey Kiba." Naruto said.

"Naruto! Hey man, how are you?" Kiba said cheerfully.

Naruto and I face-palmed. I swear, Kiba was bi-polar. He was always so nice around Naruto, but as soon as it was just me and him, it was like putting a wolf and a panther together and seeing which one snaps first. I'd actually gotten into one or two fights with Kiba, usually over Naruto.

Not in the sense of we both want him, but more like Kiba was convinced I was secretly trying to rape Naruto and I had to defend myself, didn't I?

Naruto sighed, pushing himself up and excusing himself from the table. "Kiba, you're really troublesome sometimes..." he muttered as he went, and I could hear Kiba shouting about how he was not Shikamaru and he was never troublesome.

Ha.

Yeah right.

Mother came up behind me, smiling as she watched Naruto leave and placed her hands on my shoulders, leaning down to whisper into my ear.

"He's a lovely boy for sure. I can see why you like him."

I fought back a blush. "Who said I liked him like that?" I hissed.

She gave me a sympathetic look. "Oh dear, it's as obvious as day to me. I'm your mother, so of course I can tell when you like someone. And honestly," here she grinned cheekily, "I'm pretty sure he likes you too!"

She giggled and tapped my forehead before going to start washing up. Father and his co-workers were heading towards the living room to start discussing the more important business matters. Itachi had managed to escape from dish-duty with Deidara and Kisame, and the three were most likely upstairs in his room, plotting world domination or whatever it is the Devil's Spawn and his lackeys do these days.

I sat in the chair, replaying my mother's words over and over in my mind.

I really hoped she was right.

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

"Kiba...can I ask you guys something?" I said lowly.

I was standing at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall. Sasuke was still downstairs, but I was grateful for that. I didn't want him to hear this conversation.

At least not yet.

"Hm? Sure, what is it?" Kiba replied. He and Sakura were most likely sitting with the phone on loudspeaker and I could hear their movements when they shifted or so.

I bit my lip, glancing around briefly to make sure I was alone. "Uh...well...with Sasuke and I...uh...w-what kind of vibe do we give off to others?"

There was silence on the other end, and I could almost picture the shared looks between my two friends.

"...Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Sakura asked slowly.

I sighed, glancing around again.

Seriously, I felt paranoid.

"Well it's just...earlier, I overheard Sasuke talking to his mom after a prank we pulled on his brother and...well...s-she said that she thought we looked like we would be a..._cute couple_." I mumbled the last bit, feeling heat rise to my cheeks once again even as the words came back to me.

"...And how do _you _feel about that?" Sakura asked softly.

I groaned and leant back. "I don't know! I mean...I'm not put off, to be totally honest, in fact I kind of feel...lighter? Yeah, lighter at that. But I've never considered Sasuke in that way until now! I don't even know if he's gay or not!"

I heard Kiba snort loudly. "Don't you have gaydar?"

I frowned. "...I don't know. Sometimes I can tell, but I can't with Sasuke."

Kiba made an incredulous sound, and distantly I heard Sakura muttering 'Yes, Kiba. He is that oblivious.'

"Hey! What do you guys know?" I asked, catching onto the fact they seemed to know something.

Kiba started snickering. "Oh, we know something juicy! What'll you do for us in exchange?" he asked.

I let out a whine. "Kiba! Just tell me!"

"Nope."

"Kiba!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No way."

"Pretty please?"

"Nu-uh."

"I'll tell Hinata you've had dreams about her on Monday."

"NO FAIR JACKASS!" Kiba screeched even as Sakura burst out laughing at my evilness. I smirked in triumph.

"So? Want to tell me now, or am I going to have to let Hinata-chan know about your wet dreams?"

I heard Sakura squeak out an amused 'You've had wet dreams about her? Kiba, you _dog _you!' while I could feel Kiba blushing over the phone.

"Fine! You ass, I'm going to get you back for this!" he threatened. I shrugged, grinning.

"So? What do you know?"

"Uchiha's gay."

I blinked, my mouth dropping at the suddenness. "He is?"

"Yep."

"How do you know?"

"He told us."

"What? When?"

"After you had your freak out-and-concussion, and he carried you home."

I swallowed. That was a long time ago now. Why hadn't they said anything?

Why hadn't he said anything?

"...Hey, Naruto? You there?"

"Y-yeah...just...uh..."

"What's wrong Naruto? Is he making a move on you?" Kiba demanded.

"No! At least, I don't think so...I mean...he's always been a bit affectionate with me.."

"SAY WHAT?" I winced once again as Kiba set off into another spout of shouting. Holding the phone away from my ear, I let my mind mull over everything now.

Sasuke was gay. That was confirmed.

Looking back, I felt a bit embarrassed at not having figured it out.

Now that I think about it, it's painfully obvious.

Wincing at my own obliviousness, I sighed.

So, Sasuke was gay. And he also treated me differently than the others. That meant he probably liked me, didn't it? Or was I really just an extra special friend?

Then again, I suppose if he was friends with a pig, having a human friend must be a big step for him. I must be a special friend, since I walk on two legs and I can speak his language fluently.

Well, maybe not his exactly. I'm still struggling to translate a few of those grunts and nods. But I'm getting there!

I blinked before groaning and hitting my head against the back of the wall. My damn short attention span was getting me again. I seriously needed to find a cure to that.

Back to the topic at hand.

There was a chance that Sasuke liked me. But how did I feel about him? I won't deny that he's a good looking guy, even if he is a bit too pale and his hair resembles that of an aquatic bird's backside. And then there was the fact that we got on well, to some extent. But I even found myself enjoying our fights. They gave us a type of spark. We were best friends who were constantly challenging each other; rivals pushing each other to get better at anything we did.

And I loved that about our friendship. It was exhilarating.

Would that change if we became something more?

Somehow, I couldn't picture that happening. If we did become a couple, I couldn't imagine Sasuke becoming an overly loving and clingy boyfriend. And the thought of him not calling me a dobe was just insane. I would always be dobe to him, whether it was bad or not. And he would always be teme to me. I wouldn't stop calling him that just because we were together.

"Naruto? Yo, Naruto? You there?" Kiba was calling.

I raised the phone up to my ear. "Ah."

"So...Do you like Sasuke that way?" Sakura asked.

I looked towards the foot of the stairs when footsteps sounded, and soon enough Sasuke walked into view. He looked up, pausing when he saw me watching him, and raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?" he called.

I smiled and nodded. "Yes... I think I do..." I muttered into the phone.

The other two were silent before Sakura spoke. "Then I give you both my blessings, and Kiba does to. Whatever you decide, we'll be with you." She said.

I smiled wider and turned to the phone. "Thanks Sakura-chan. You guys are awesome." I said sincerely while Sasuke made his way upstairs.

Sakura called goodbye and Kiba gave a last warning before she could hang up. "DON'T LET HIM TOUCH THE GOODS THOUGH! THOSE ARE OFF LIMITS UNTIL I SAY SO!"

I snapped the phone shut just as Sasuke reached the top, giving me a strange look.

"What was Kiba yelling about goods?" he asked curiously.

I snickered, tucking my phone away. "He's convinced you're going to molest me." I said bluntly.

Sasuke stiffened before he growled. "Damn dog. I'm not some rapist dammit."

Yes, gotcha!

I tilted my head, giving him a mischievous grin. "Oh? But you'd still molest me?" I teased.

Sasuke scowled down at me, but I could see it now. The slight tinge to his face and the way his eyes seemed to rake over my body quickly, as if he was pin pointing the spots he'd go for first before they returned to my face. He reached out and flicked my forehead.

"Stop being a dobe, dobe. Want to watch a movie?" he asked.

I grinned, rubbing the spot on my head. "What movie?"

"The Good, the Bad and the Weird." He said. I nodded eagerly. I'd heard that movie was funny and cool.

"To your bedroom!" I called, pointing down the hall.

Before I could move, Sasuke let his hand thump onto my head. "Idiot. The T.V's in the den." He drawled.

I quickly rearranged my finger to point downstairs. "To the den, then!" I grinned. "Hey, that rhymes!"

Sasuke snorted as he made his way back down the stairs with me on his tail. "Way to go, Dr. Seuss. Want a medal?" he teased. I scowled and slapped his back playfully.

"Shut it teme!" He just smirked as we made our way to the den.

Mikoto passed by on our way. "Oh, where are you two off too?" she asked smiling.

"We're going to watch a movie in the den. Is that okay?" Sasuke asked. She shook her head smiling.

"I'll bring you two some popcorn and drinks, okay?" she offered and we nodded our thanks.

Well, Sasuke did. I hugged her happily and vocalised my thanks.

She giggled and hugged me back, swinging me around slightly. "You're so energetic Naruto-kun!" she looked at Sasuke, beaming. "Sasuke, make him stay the night!" she said.

Sasuke smirked at me. "Dobe, you're staying the night." He said.

I scowled at him, but it was short lived due to Mikoto cheering happily. "I'm sure Sasuke has some clothes that will fit you for bed, so don't worry about a thing!" she said before walking off to make snacks.

Sasuke snickered and tugged on my arm to get me moving again. "She really likes you. I'm starting to think she might try to kidnap you in your sleep."

I swallowed, glancing back over my shoulder at her. "What would she do to me?"

"Dress you up, smother you, and feed you her cooking until you exploded." Sasuke listed, only stopping when he heard me whine in fear. He chuckled evilly. "Relax dobe." He looked over his shoulder at me. "I'll protect you from the big bad Mom."

I stared at him before grinning, even though my cheeks were a bit pink from that. "Thanks Sasuke!"

He just turned back, but I caught the small smile on his face.

It only made mine bigger.

* * *

**KYAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH! Lololololololololololololol...**

**I'm hyper and happy because my best friend is being so adorably cute! I just love her so much! I miss her though! TT^TT Wish I could see her again!**

**But I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Not sure when the next will come out, but damn, I'm still feeling pumped, so keep positive!**

**Reviews are awesome and everyone-oh fuck it, you know there rest! XD **

**PRESS THE BUTTON AND BECOME AWESOME!  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey everyone! I meant to update this yesterday, actually, but...uh...well... *looks away* Some serious shit happened with family, and I ended up having to get out of the house for the night and going to my cousins, so I didn't have my laptop, which meant no files, which meant no possible updating...sorry...**

**But, it's still a fast update, so I don't see any complaints to be had, really...**

**Anyway, there is SasuNaru here, but it's more fluffy than anything...so that's your warning.**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto or The Good, The Bad, and The Weird.  
**

**Oh, p.s! The Couch is something that my old friend has! Seriously, her couch was just like it, and it got a bit scary sometimes! You'll see what I mean when you read on.**

**Without further ado...  
**

**Online!  
**

* * *

The den was a great place to watch movies. It was a regular sized room, with a large T.V taking up one end and a four seat couch across from it. The couch was soft and cushiony and you could just sink into it and relax. It was so comfortable one could sleep on it and feel as if you were in a grandiose bed.

I admit it; I fell in love with that couch upon first sitting.

The windows had dark curtains hanging over them so that once they were closed the room would be dark like a real theatre, enhancing the experience even more.

The only doorway was behind the couch, so it had one entrance. The only downside was that the entrance was perfect for sneak attacks from Itachi, should he decide to get his revenge while we were watching.

But I didn't worry about that.

I had a feeling Deidara liked me enough to keep the Devil at bay for now.

I sighed happily as I sank into the warm seat. "This couch...is my favourite place in your house." I groaned, turning over a bit and grinning as I sank even deeper into the warmth.

Sasuke hummed in agreement. "It is a nice couch." He said absently as he set up the DVD player. The screen came on and before too long the title menu for the movie was playing. I grinned as Sasuke came over and sank down onto the cushy heaven seat, holding the remote in one hand and the edge of a blanket in the other.

I grabbed the blanket and pulled, letting it cover us a bit before staring at the screen. "Put it on already!" I ordered.

Sasuke elbowed me in the side, but pressed play and tossed the remote to the side before wrapping the blanket around himself a bit more and leaning back.

For a while we watched in silence aside from my laughing at the funny bits and Sasuke's occasional snort or comment at something. After about fifteen minutes of watching, Mikoto came in with a large bowl of popcorn and two cans of soda. She placed them between us, smiling as we looked up at her over the back of the couch.

"You two look nice and cosy. Enjoy the movie!" she called, waving before walking out.

I grinned and called a thank you while Sasuke grunted before we both turned back to the movie, grabbing handfuls of popcorn every now and then.

It must have only been about five minutes later that I reached in to grab some more, and my hand collided against Sasuke's. We both stiffened and turned to stare at our hands before looking up at each other.

The staring continued before Sasuke smirked and pulled his hand out, taking the popcorn with him. I blinked and glared.

"Teme! That's my handful of popcorn!" I said indignantly. Sasuke's smirk widened and he made a show of popping the pieces into his mouth, one at a time. I let out a whine as I watched each disappearing piece, until finally there was only one left.

"Teme, that one is mine!" I snapped, holding out my hand to grab it. Sasuke pulled it away, moving back on the couch a bit, grinning evilly the whole time.

"You want it, dobe?" he teased, waving it around a bit. I snatched at it again, but his arm was longer and he kept it out of reach.

Curse my short stature!

"Teme!" I growled, making a wild lunge.

Ah...the couch.

The oh-so-wonderful couch.

It both helped me and betrayed me.

As I moved, my foot sunk into the lovely soft couch cushions, and I lost my balance. I didn't have time to stop myself from falling forwards. I saw Sasuke's eyes widen a bit as I toppled towards him, and he backed up just a bit before I fell on top of him.

My lips met something soft and warm.

And then, ladies and gentlemen, in the dark room of the den, with a movie playing on in the background and a blanket over the two of us, I, Uzumaki Naruto, ended up kissing...

Uchiha Sasuke's shirt.

...

I'm not kidding.

Because Sasuke was such a ninja, he managed to move back enough so that when I landed, my face was pressed to his chest and my lips were pressed against the soft and warm fabric of his t-shirt. It smelled like soap, lunch and the vague musk scent of Sasuke's deodorant. It was an odd mix, and I wasn't sure if it was all that nice.

It kind of made my nose itch.

"Dobe!" Sasuke growled. I looked up, grinning sheepishly.

"It was the couch's fault!"

"You're seriously blaming your idiocy on my couch?"

"Uh...yes?"

"Dobe."

"Teme."

We glared at each other, and it was only when I vaguely noted that both of Sasuke's hands were in sight that I realized something.

The bastard had eaten the last popcorn piece.

"Teme! You ate my popcorn!" I whined. Sasuke smirked.

"Actually I didn't. The couch did." He retorted cheekily. I growled and bit down on his chest, just as payback. He let out an uncharacteristic yelp and swatted my head.

"That hurt moron!"

"Payback for being a smart ass." I replied calmly. Sasuke growled and bucked upwards, making me roll off of him. Since my feet were still wrapped in the cosy confines of the couch, I only twisted around and my torso ended up hanging over the edge while the rest of me stayed up.

Sasuke snickered at me while I wriggled helplessly, trying to straighten up but it was no use. I was stuck.

"Sasuke! Help me!" I yelped, twisting around again only to fail...again.

Sasuke scoffed, but reached down to try and help me up.

And it seemed the couch didn't like him either.

He struggled to pull me up, but just as he almost succeeded his knee slipped and was sucked in between two of the cushions. He let out a soft curse as he jerked forwards and by the end, we were both hanging half off the couch with our legs stuck in the cushions, and our arms hanging limply above our heads.

Sasuke was almost on top of me from his fall, and I pouted.

"Teme...I'm starting to dislike your couch." I grumbled. Sasuke growled.

"It's not my couch, it's Itachi's." He said.

I laughed loudly, my body shaking with the laughter. Sure, as soon as the couch sucked, it became Itachi's.

Classic Uchiha rivalry.

"Well, that just makes it worse. He's getting revenge on us without even trying." I pointed out, grinning. Sasuke scowled and tried to move, but all that did was get him stuck even more.

"Great. Just great." He grumbled unhappily. I smiled and pulled my arm up to pat his head awkwardly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure when you're mother comes to check on us, she'll save us." I said reassuringly.

Sasuke glared at me. "I'm not waiting for my mother to rescue me! That's just embarrassing!" he hissed.

I raised my eyebrow. "This coming from the guy who runs to his mom to get back at his brother?" I asked sceptically.

Sasuke growled. "That's a different story."

"Sure."

"Dobe."

"Teme."

"Idiot."

"Ass."

"Moron."

"Jerk."

"Don't make me bite you." He threatened, leaning closer and glaring. I glared back challengingly.

"You bite me; I'll just bite you back." I said warningly.

We continued to glare at each other, but suddenly I realized how close we were. Our noses bumped against each other occasionally, and I could feel Sasuke's breath fan across my lips and cheeks. His eyes were boring into my own, and I could see every fine detail about them, including the fact that they even seemed to have a slight crimson tinge hidden in the dark onyx. I knew my face was heating up, but I was transfixed by the sight before me. I saw the way his eyes widened slightly, and a light if realization sparked within them before they fell to half mast.

"Naruto..." his voice was soft and low and I felt a shiver run down my spine. "What's with that look?"

I swallowed, my own eyes falling to half mast as I glanced down at his lips briefly. "What look?" I questioned softly.

Sasuke tilted his head slightly, our noses brushing again. I felt his hand sliding up my arm before it reached my own hand, and our fingers were tangled together. He squeezed lightly, and I heard my own heart thud loudly in my ears.

"You look as if you desperately want..." He leant closer, his lips only a hairs breadth away from mine, "...to kiss me." He finished softly.

I sighed softly, once again glancing at his lips and licking my own, seeing his own eyes dart down briefly. "Maybe that's because...I really do." I whispered.

He stared at me and I stared back, my face slightly red. I squeezed his hand lightly and he squeezed back almost instantly.

"Then do it." Was the breathless reply.

I leant forwards, as did he, and our lips met softly. Our eyes closed as we gently moved our mouths together, relishing the tingling feeling that spread down our spines.

Neither of is made any move to deepen the kiss, and I was thankful for that. I was still new to everything, and still unsure of quite a few things. I wanted to give this time, to make sure that whatever this was wasn't going to crash and burn around me. Sasuke's other hand came up to gently cup my cheek, and I ran my fingers through his hair lightly.

It was, in all means, an innocent kiss. It could be called experimental even, since I could feel the hesitation radiating from both of us. This was something new and we were both unsure of how to proceed.

I smiled a bit. It was almost like when we'd discovered each other's identity. But this time, instead of shutting down, we were simply taking baby steps. I could foretell that when we parted, there'd probably be some awkwardness, but we'd get by. Even if there was something between us, we were still best friends, and would help each other through this unsure future.

I opened my eyes a bit, and after a moment, Sasuke did too. I could see the questions swimming in his eyes, as well as the hesitance and hope. In response, for the time being, I just pulled away only to lean back again quickly and place another kiss on his lips. When I pulled away again, he closed his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"...Dobe." he said softly, opening his eyes to look at me. I smiled back, understanding what he was trying to say.

"Teme."

It would be alright. Whatever happened, we were best friends, and that wouldn't change. We would figure this out, one baby step at a time, and if one of us fell, the other would be there to pull them back up and brush off the dirt.

We pulled away until we were a reasonable distance apart and just smiled at each other. Our hands were still linked and I felt content with the world at the moment.

There was a loud groan from the couch before the cushions that had entrapped us popped out of place. We let out similar cries of surprise was our legs were set loose and we tumbled to the ground, landing in a heap of limbs.

I blinked up at the ceiling, seeing it through Sasuke's hair since his head had landed next to mine.

Before too long, I heard him snort before talking softly, and almost grumpily.

"Itachi: zero...Sasuke: zero...Naruto: zero..." he trailed off and I grinned.

"The Couch: one." I finished.

He chuckled and I laughed, and we pulled ourselves up from the mess on the floor. I sighed happily before music caught my attention, and I looked at the T.V screen.

"Ah! Teme, we missed the rest of the movie!" I cried, plastering myself to the screen in despair as the titles continued on.

Sasuke snickered behind me and pulled me away. "Relax, moron. We can just watch it again." He reassured.

I blinked and grinned. "Replay!"

We managed to get the cushions back onto the couch and sit in a non-hazardous way. We watched the movie again too. We laughed, we argued, he insulted me, I hit him, he hit me back. We fought a little bit until Mikoto came in to see what was wrong, during which we just grinned at each other despite the bruises forming on our arms and faces.

Mikoto made us some more popcorn, and we had a battle over the last piece. In the end, Sasuke won, but he took pity on me and let me have the last piece. As a thank you, I kissed him on the cheek, and Sasuke's face went a bit pink, especially since Mikoto had just walked in as I did that.

She gave us a hug, jabbering on about how adorable we were and then forcing us to stay still while she took a picture of us with her phone.

In the end, nothing all that much had changed aside from the fact that now, Sasuke and I were even closer.

We were taking this thing one baby step at a time.

And that was fine with me.

* * *

**Okay, it's a short chapter, I understand, but I had to end it here, because I just couldn't bring myself to add any more to it...**

**But, there is a small extra bit here, you can choose to read it or not. It isn't necessary to read it, but it might be benificial and give you some future plot hints if you do, ever so slightly. It's from no-one's point of view, but it's ehre. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

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**Extra**

Mikoto walked out of the room, having just given the boys their bowl of popcorn. As soon as she was out the door, she covered her mouth and giggled excitedly. Somehow, seeing the two boys sitting together under the blanket on the old couch made her feel as if something good would happen soon.

She definitely hoped so. For a while now, she'd seen the way Sasuke's eyes would light up and his face would brighten at the mention of his friend, and she'd been so glad to know he'd found someone that could make him that way. She had been so excited to meet the boy that Sasuke was undoubtedly falling for, and she'd been rewarded for her patience.

Naruto was a wonderful boy in her mind, and she couldn't think of anyone better. She could see that Sasuke was truly happy when he was around that boy.

She leant against the wall, a sigh escaping her.

Sasuke had always been so withdrawn, even around their family. His smiles were always small and sometimes they were definitely false, and it had hurt her inside to see her son was not living, but merely existing. She had tried to change that, doing what she could, but it seemed that there were some things that parents could not do for their beloved children.

She stood at the door, listening as the boys laughed or commented, and her heart warmed when she heard Sasuke chuckling. Just the knowledge that Naruto was the reason filled her with happiness, and in all truth, a small tinge of jealousy.

She smiled, listening as they argued, knowing full well it was all in good heart between them.

A sad smile formed on her face as she heard her son and Naruto talking, insulting each other but with a smile in their voice.

It was so similar, she thought. Just like those two used to be.

So similar to Fugaku and...

She clenched her fist. No, she couldn't think about that sort of thing now.

She peeked around the corner in time to see the boys fall for the second time as the dreaded couch swallowed their legs, and her eyes widened as she saw how close they were. She put her hands together, sending a small prayer to the heavens that something good would come out of this.

With bated breath, she watched as the boys drew closer, still arguing, before they fell silent. The air was heavy with something she could only hope was what she thought it was.

She inched closer to see better, and for a moment, she felt everything freeze around her.

They were kissing. Her beloved son and newly beloved son's best friend were kissing. It was so innocent; she almost saw them as no more than seven year olds trying to copy what they'd seen their parents do.

She held back a squeal and backed away before turning abruptly and running down the hall, tears gathering in her eyes as she called out.

"Fugaku! Fugaku dear!" she called, heading towards the living room. "Our Sasuke is growing up! Our little baby is growing up as we speak!" she cried. 


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I've been sick as a dog, and this chapter has given me some trouble for a while...it just wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to, you know? Anyway, I'm pretty happy with this version of it, so I feel ready to post it.**

**Things are taking a new turn now...or a half old one, I guess...hehehe, sorry if this confuses you, but you'll understand in due time.**

**Anyway, not much to say other than I hope you enjoy, and once again sorry for the long wait!**

**Online!  
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I was pulled from a wonderful, ramen filled dream by something rather heavy hitting me across the face. Snorting a bit at the abrupt awakening, I struggled to open my eyes and batted whatever had struck me away. It vanished with little protest, and I sighed and stopped trying to open my eyes, opting to get some more sleep. But I wasn't all that comfortable, so I decided to roll over a bit to fix that.

Not the best idea.

I rolled and you can imagine my surprise when the bed I was on seemed to disappear from beneath me. I managed to let out a short yell before I fell to the floor and landed on my stomach rather painfully. I groaned and pried my eyelids apart to glare weakly at the side of the bed I'd been on.

Stupid bed.

I closed my eyes for a few moments before my brows furrowed in confusion, and I cracked them open again.

Since when were my sheets blue?

Opening my eyes wider, I looked around and realized I wasn't in my room at all. Gaping stupidly as I tried to recall where I was, I heard a soft snore from the bed, and everything came back.

I was at Sasuke's house. I'd been asked-more like ordered- to spend the night and had slept in Sasuke's room.

So that explained all the blue.

Another soft snore, and yet even more memories came back. Memories that made my face feel a bit warm.

We'd kissed. Sasuke and I had kissed. We were a couple, sort of.

Well, if that didn't prove to be an interesting first stay at my best friend's house.

Another soft snore sounded, followed by a soft groan before I saw Sasuke's arm get flung over the edge of the bed as he changed position to get comfortable.

So he was the one who slapped me awake.

The bastard!

I scowled, more than a little displeased that he'd interrupted my awesome dream of ramen, and climbed back onto the bed carefully, looking down at his sleeping visage. Every now and then, his brows would get closer together, creating a small wrinkle between them and his mouth would turn down into a sleepy scowl.

Seriously, even in sleep he looked like a bastard. There went my thoughts of him looking angelic when he slept. I was starting to think Itachi shoved a stick up his ass at a young age, and had never bothered to take it out.

Snickering at my own thoughts, I reached over and started poking my sleeping companion in the cheek, wondering how long it would take the guy to wake up.

After about ten pokes, I moved to poke him again when a hand shot up, grabbing my finger and stopping my progress. A sleep-blurred onyx eye cracked open to glare at me through dark lashes and Sasuke's sleep riddled voice rasped out.

"What are you doing, dobe?"

I grinned cheekily. "Bugging you." I replied, pulling my hand out of his grip only to poke his cheek again. Sasuke growled, but I ignored it.

"And why are you doing that?" he questioned grumpily.

"Because you slapped me awake, you jerk. I was having nice dreams about ramen when you tossed about in your bastard dreams and woke me up." I said, frowning at him to show my displeasure.

Sasuke blinked before smirking. "Aw...Dobe's upset because I interrupted some ramen time?" he teased, his smirk widening when I growled at him. Lazily, he sat up, the blankets falling to pool around his waist. He ran a hand through his hair. "Don't worry dobe, I'm sure you'll have plenty other opportunities to dream of your ramen." He assured, yawning a bit.

I huffed and crossed my arms. "Teme, that's not the point." I insisted. Sasuke shrugged uncaringly, before settling his gaze on me once again, only this time his eyes were shining with something new.

"You're right. That's not the point right now." He said before he scooted closer. I turned to face him, wondering what he was up to when he leant forward quickly and pressed his lips against mine. At first I just stared at him, but then inwardly I shrugged and began to kiss him back.

When we pulled apart, I frowned. "What was the point of that?" I asked. Sasuke smirked.

"That was my good morning kiss." He said as he threw the blankets off and climbed out of the bed, leaving me to stare after him as he walked out the door, heading to the bathroom.

Once he was out of sight, I sighed, running a finger over my lips.

Stupid bastard. He kissed to good to be normal. I was now more sure than ever that he was some kind of robot or alien.

But wait...

My eyes widened in horror. If Sasuke was an alien or something, then that means Itachi was too! And so were Mikoto and Fugaku! I was trapped in a house of perfect aliens!

What if they tried to eat my brain!

A small cry of despair escaped me as I fell face forward into the pillows on the bed.

For a minute I just lay there, mulling over my absurd thoughts and wild imagination before tilting me head to the side slightly.

"...It smells like Sasuke..." I muttered absently; take another sniff and getting the scent to wash over my senses once more.

Don't get me wrong! If you think I am turning into some lovesick school boy, who swoons over the scent of my boyfriend and would start gushing out random poetry from the bottom of my heart, you're obviously reading some fucked up manga in your free time. School boys do _not _do that.

At least, none that _I _know of.

I mentioned it before, but Sasuke's scent was something that left an odd feeling for me. It was familiar, and since it was his it brought back good memories and a sense of comfort. But that didn't mean it had to smell heavenly.

It still made my nose tingle on occasion.

The silence of the room was interrupted by a loud growl from my stomach, and with my active imagination, I clearly saw a large amount of chibi-Naruto's in my body, sitting around a table in my stomach area slamming their knives and forks onto the counter and chanting 'food' over and over.

Deciding to satisfy the little terrors before they did something less than pleasant, I pulled myself off the bed and made my way to the door. As it opened, I heard a door open down the hall, and saw another head of blonde hair emerging from the bedroom over there.

"Oh, good morning Deidara." I called, waving slightly. Deidara blinked and turned to look at me before grinning and waving back enthusiastically.

"Oh hey Naruto! Have a good-oh geez!" Deidara cursed as his waving hand hit the low hanging light, causing it to swing back and forth dangerously. He fumbled around, trying to grab it and stop its deadly motions while I watched, chuckling amusedly. Once he'd stopped it, he turned back to me, smiling sheepishly.

"Er, as I was saying, have a good sleep, un?" he asked, walking up to me and running a hand through his long hair. I nodded, smirking at him from his earlier trip up.

"Yeah, it was pleasant. Well, except the part I woke up." I added, shrugging. Deidara tilted his head, already walking to the stairs and leading me to follow.

"Oh? Why is that, un?"

"Sasuke kind of subconsciously slapped me awake."

Deidara burst out laughing, slapping his thigh as he went. "Are you serious, un? That's...That's hilarious!" he gasped, breaking into another fit of laughter. I joined in as we made our way to the kitchen where the smell of bacon and eggs made my mouth water and my stomach chibi's go insane.

Walking through the door, I was sure I would flood the kitchen with drool at the sight of all the food set out on the table, and I was sorely tempted to get down on one knee and start singing the Glorious Food song from that old play with the orphan named after a sickly green tornado.

...In case that metaphor got you lost, I'm talking about Oliver Twist.

Fugaku was at the table, one hand holding a cup of coffee that sent steamy swirls of fragrant heat up into his face, and his features were more relaxed as he took a slow sip of the black liquid. A newspaper sat folded under his one hand, either ready to be read, or already explored to the fullest.

Mikoto was loading some bacon onto the plates when we entered, and she looked up, her face breaking into a smile upon seeing us. Her long hair was pinned back, a few strands hanging around her face. She was wearing a simple white blouse and a black skirt that fell to her knees, and a pristine white apron adorned her front.

"Good morning you two! Did you sleep well last night?" she asked, her eyes shining slightly in the morning sunlight that came streaming through the windows.

...

Why...did I feel like I'd just stepped into some kind of 'perfect family' T.V commercial.

"The...sparkling sunlight...the scent of freshly brewed coffee..."

Everyone's eyes turned to me as I began mumbling, and they were obviously surprised by the suspicious look I was giving the entire kitchen.

"Naruto-kun?" Mikoto said unsurely, her dark eyes sparkling with slight worry.

"The suspiciously shiny appliances and pine-fresh atmosphere with a dash of home cooking..."

"Naruto? What are you mumbling about?" Deidara asked, edging away from me slightly, as if afraid to catch my weirdness.

"The smooth polished floors and the levels of politeness that reach beyond the skies..." I mumbled, my eyes narrowing as finally everything was set into place in my mind.

"Oi, dobe. You couldn't have waited for me-" Sasuke's sentence was cut off as I grabbed the front of his sweatshirt, shaking it and causing his head to flop around like a rag doll.

"YOU'RE ALL PERFECT ROBOTS AFTER ALL, AREN'T YOU?" I demanded, my eyes glaring into his while my hands continued to shake him roughly. Sasuke looked slightly panicked as he grabbed at my hands, trying to steady himself and undoubtedly stop the world from spinning so fast.

"D-dobe! What the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped as I pulled my hands away, now pacing furiously.

"It all makes sense now! I had a dream about it, and now this just proves that it wasn't a dream, but a premonition!" I insisted, smacking my chest as I explained and making wild gestures. Deidara was watching me, his eyes wide and his mouth nothing but a small 'o' in surprise as I ranted. Mikoto looked as if she couldn't decide whether to laugh, or call an ambulance.

Fugaku sipped his coffee.

Smart man.

"Naruto, what in the name of Shaiya are you talking about!" Sasuke finally raised his voice, placing one hand atop my head and pushing down, keeping my head there even as I tried to struggle. After a moment of the two of us struggling, it was interrupted by an extremely ferocious growl from my stomach.

Silence descended upon everyone in the kitchen before I slowly tilted my head to the side, looking at Sasuke with pleading eyes.

"...I'm so hungry..." Deciding to try and score some extra bacon, I added a puppy dog face, complete with trembling lower lip for ultimate cuteness. It must have worked, since Sasuke seemed at a loss for words for a while, his lips slightly parted and a half formed words escaping him. Finally, he 'tch'ed and removed his hand, grabbing my arm and leading me to the table.

"You're such a dobe." He muttered, but I caught the slight pink on his face. I grinned at him, poking his cheek and laughing.

"But you like me." I teased, to which Sasuke crossed his arms and looked to the side, scowling. I snickered at his childish action while Deidara started making jabs at him about it. Mikoto smiled and served us large helpings of food just as Itachi came downstairs, looking his usual evil self.

Soon everyone was seated around the table, eating, talking and, mostly in mine and Deidara's case, laughing.

I couldn't help but smile at everyone in the room, and my heart was beating so fast against my chest, I wouldn't have been surprised if there was a large heart shaped indentation in my chest, just like those ridiculous cartoons on T.V.

"Naruto-kun, how long can you stay?" Mikoto asked suddenly. I hummed in thought, remembering that there was still some maths homework I had neglected that would take me some time to get done, since there was no way in hell I was going to leave it till last minute. Not when it was for Mizuki-sensei.

"Hmm...I should probably leave in an hour or so..." I said, glancing over to her. My thoughtful face was wiped off and replaced with one of remorse upon seeing the very sad puppy look she was giving me.

"An hour? So soon?" she said, and I decided to refuse the fact she whimpered _for_ her.

"W-well I've got some work to do and then there's the usual chores around my apartment, like laundry and such." I said weakly, in the hopes that she'd understand more. Mikoto continued to stare at me with a defeated puppy face, and I could feel my resolve slipping.

But in the back of my mind, I could see Mizuki-sensei laughing evilly while holding my incomplete homework assignment before throwing me into a pit of despair and humiliation, and it was enough to re-strengthen my will.

"I'm sorry I can't stay longer. But I'll visit again." I assured.

It worked like a charm. Mikoto's face lightened immediately, and she smiled warmly.

"Please do, Naruto-kun. I very much enjoy your company. Isn't that right, dear?" she asked, turning to Fugaku.

I looked over at the man of the house, who in turn, looked back at me for a moment. Then he nodded and turned back to his bacon.

A man cannot be distracted from his bacon, after all.

Beside me Sasuke shifted slightly, his arm brushing mine subtly. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes, but he was eating. However, there was an almost imperceptible upwards curve to the corners of his mouth. It was a hidden smile, one made especially for me.

I felt special.

Giving a soft smile of my own, I turned back to my eggs and bacon and began to devour the feast in front of me with much gusto.

It had been a great weekend.

* * *

After my weekend at Sasuke's house, the week seemed to pass by in such a blur I could hardly tell one day from the next. However, no amount of blurriness could erase some of the very important lessons I'd learned from that weekend.

Lesson number one: _Never _leave for the weekend without first telling your two closest friends. They will maul and interrogate you upon sight when you return.

This was such a harsh lesson for me to learn, especially since Kiba insisted on doing a 'virgin ass' test.

This 'test' consisted of Kiba trying to shove a white radish up my ass, saying that if I was a virgin, I'd avoid it, and if I wasn't, I'd enjoy it.

Both Sakura and I started beating him and screaming about how _no one_ would enjoy having a large white radish shoved up their anus.

However, after the initial stage of torture, both of them seemed really happy for me. Kiba was still exceedingly grudging about it, but he at least said we could date, knowing we'd do so with or without his permission. However, he insisted that we were not to go further than kissing.

When I asked him why, he just got this weird look in his eye before laughing to himself rather evilly.

But I was fine with that. After all, no rush, right?

The next lesson I learned was this...Teachers really _did_ know shit, and often it was shit they really _shouldn't_ know!

When we'd gone to our History lesson on Monday, Sasuke and I had kept contact to a minimum. After all, we both agreed to keep our relationship a secret. We could be friends openly, but as for the more than friends bit?

That was our business and our business alone.

But somehow...somehow...of all people in the school...our tardy History teacher Kakashi-sensei seemed to know.

I even said the classical horrified 'He _knows,_ man' to Sasuke after class. But I needn't have, since Sasuke could tell. The way Kakashi had kept glancing between us, before doing this creepy eye smile thing and laughing. And then, he'd gone on to talk about history's greatest gay couples.

I didn't even know we had those!

But Kakashi wasn't the only one to notice something was up, it seemed. Asuma-sensei also gave me strange looks during biology, and I almost died in Social Sciences when Anko-sensei winked at Sasuke before glancing to me.

Seriously teachers were scary things.

However, the teacher that confused me the most was Mizuki-sensei.

While he was as much as a jerk as ever, there was something else now. Every time he looked at me, he looked on with the usual loathing, but never once had he looked at anyone else that way.

But...when we'd had our first class with him that week...

I remember it.

We'd come into class, like always. Sasuke and I had entered after everyone else, since we'd actually been making out in a janitors closet before class. We probably would've been late except Kiba found us.

Oh yeah, that was another lesson I learned.

If there was anyone you did not want to find you making out in the school area, it was not the teachers, but Inuzuka Kiba. He looked ready to tear Sasuke to shreds, especially when he noticed his hand was on my butt.

The bell had saved our lives, really.

But anyway, we had walked into class, with me fixing my shirt so as to hide the hickey Sasuke thought he would place on my neck. Luckily it wasn't very noticeable, but I think that Mizuki-sensei may have seen it, by the way his eyes narrowed slightly.

But when he'd looked at Sasuke, who had been subtly fixing his own wrinkled shirt, I saw it.

Mizuki-sensei had been glaring at Sasuke with the same intense loathing that he usually used on me. When I asked Sasuke about it after the lesson, during which Mizuki-sensei hadn't even taken the time to torment me, he said it was probably nothing.

But somehow, the uneasy feeling was growing in the back of my mind, and I couldn't help but feel like something terrible was approaching on swift wings.

The calm before the storm.

I tried my best to do as Sasuke said, and ignore it, but it was difficult. Although, hanging out with my friends, sneaking away at odd times with Sasuke for some making out, running for mine and Sasuke's life when Kiba once again found us in some compromising situations, did help to take my mind off the odd feeling.

But just because I wasn't thinking about it didn't mean it wasn't there.

The next week passed by in much the same way, only with more kissing and bolder attempts from Sasuke. But it seemed the bolder Sasuke got, the better Kiba got at finding us.

And also, the angrier Mizuki-sensei seemed to become. Now he seemed to have a permanent glare set into his eyes whenever either Sasuke or myself was in his range of sight. I could understand his hating me...well, I never understood his reasons, but I at least knew he did hate me. But I just couldn't understand why the sudden change in his attitude towards Sasuke. He'd never had a problem with the class president before. In fact, sometimes he seemed to enjoy having Sasuke as a student, due to his excellent grades and such.

Any teacher would be pleasant around a student like that.

But somehow Mizuki-sensei had just grown darker and meaner. I noticed he seemed to snap a lot quicker, and his short temper wasn't only directed at me anymore, but rather spreading to the whole student body now.

It was as if someone had done something to really piss him off, and he had to suffer under it every day.

But what could have happened?

And why did I feel like...I was going to suffer even worse every time our eyes met?

I shivered, sitting in my small apartment eating some ramen. It was Thursday, and I had Mizuki-sensei first period the next day. I wondered if Friday would be as tense in that classroom as it had been every other day of the week.

Then I shook my head. It would be better to ask why the class wouldn't be as tense as every other day.

After finishing my ramen, I decided I needed to get things off my mind, and logged into Shaiya once more. I was glad to see that quite a few of my friends were there, including Shikamaru and Kiba. I joined their party almost instantly, and took great pleasure in exploring some new areas with them late into the night.

Thoughts of Mizuki and the strange unease flew straight out my head and out the window.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

First class on Friday was maths with Mizuki, just like always.

I wasn't an idiot. I hadn't failed to notice the way Mizuki was sending me looks promising death. I just ignored them, like I always did when someone glared or ogled me. I didn't know what his problem was, and quite honestly, I could care less if he has some kind of issue with me. I never did anything to him, so for him to have an issue is his own problem.

However, if he started taking out his own anger on Naruto, then there'd be trouble. I wouldn't idly sit by and let that asshole make Naruto's day miserable just because he couldn't get himself laid at the teacher convention.

_Naruto_...

The past two weeks had been, dare I say, close to _heavenly_ for me. I had the blonde all to myself, most of the time. And being the class president allowed me to leave the classroom, often on errands for the teachers. And what's more, I had the ability to make another student accompany me.

Three guesses who I pick, and the other two are just there for show.

It was actually fun to sneak around, searching for a good spot to get some kissing done, and more than once I'd managed to get as far as having my hand unzipping Naruto's pants. However, it seemed that while he was missing the 'Gaydar' option, Kiba was well equipped with a 'Naruto's-getting-fondled' sensor, because he would always find us right before anything serious could happen.

I swear I wasn't scared of many things. It took a lot to make me tremble.

But seeing Kiba look ready to cut my dick off with sharp-or blunt- object was enough to make me high-tail it back to the classroom where I could only hope he didn't try to attack me.

I was glad the weekend was so close now. Naruto and I had plans to go out on Saturday night, and then we were going to spend Sunday chilling at his place with Sakura, Kiba and Shikamaru, with all of us most likely watching a movie or maybe going online to play some Shiaya together. Kiba seemed to get a kick out of saying that half our usual group online was sitting in Naruto's small apartment playing the game. I could understand the humour in that while at the same time marvelling at the pure coincidence of it.

Sometimes life could be hilarious.

It was time for class to start now, so as usual, I broke away from Naruto, smirking at the slightly dazed look on his face and straightened his uniform for him. We were standing just around the corner from the class, out of sight of the students, since this hallway was empty.

Patting his chest slightly to ease a wrinkle or two, I pushed my blonde boyfriend forward until he was able to stumble into class himself, with me following behind. As we entered, I felt it almost immediately. The cold chill running down my back, indicating that Mizuki was truly outdoing himself with his glaring today.

Deciding to be bold, I looked up and caught his eyes, meeting his murderous glare with an impassive stare.

Hah.

I learned that one from Itachi.

Guess the old weasel was good for something.

For a moment, I simply stared at Mizuki while he glared, before finally he looked away. Feeling triumphant, I smirked as I made my way to my seat, sitting down with a bit of a flourish.

If I was a peacock, I'd be preening my feathers.

Mizuki stood up harshly, his chair scraping against the floor and sending the class into total silence. It seemed that no one wanted to get under his skin these days. He began writing something on the board, the small white piece of chalk screeching harshly against the blackboard every now and then, making most of the students wince. When he was done, he slammed the piece down and stepped away.

"There. Copy that into your diaries and keep it in mind. I'm not going to talk about it more than once, so you better listen carefully." He snapped.

Everyone took out their diaries, copying down the writing on the board.

It said 'Annual Konoha High Sports Festival'.

"Okay everyone, here's the deal." Mizuki started, pacing the front. "Konoha High school has this festival once a year, and it's when the different sports teams all compete in their selected fields with both other teams within the school as well as teams made by guests and parents. It's mainly a fundraising event, to help renovate some of the school property that could use it. Parents, siblings in different schools, and friends from other places are all welcome to come and watch. The main event of the festival, however, will be a football game between our best team and the champion team from another school. So, I'm sure you'll all enjoy it." He paused, taking a breath and letting his eyes rove over the students. They paused on Naruto, who was scribbling down the writing on the board like everyone else. I narrowed my own eyes at Mizuki as he continued to stare at Naruto, a frown hidden on his face.

But soon he moved his gaze and continued to talk.

"On that day, there will be no lessons, and most of the school will be closed off, with only the bathrooms on the first floor available. So, the school will be empty most of the time." His eyes swivelled back to Naruto as he said this, and I frowned, wondering what was going through his head. But he began pacing and talking before I could really read into his expression.

"You are not allowed to go anywhere but the bathrooms during the festival, and anyone caught roaming the school halls without permission will be punished. A month of detention, plus clean up duty as well as a strict parent-principal meeting to discuss your lack of discipline." He said, smirking at some of the whimpers that received. "Now then, does anyone have any questions?...No? Good. Let us start the lesson." He said, turning back to the board and erasing the writing to make space.

I drifted off after that, not really concentrating since I already knew everything he was going over. My mind wandered to the festival, and I realized that I was most likely going to be given a lot of work concerning the preparations and such. I held back a groan when in turn I realized I'd have less time with Naruto.

Great.

Being class president sucked.

Deciding not to dwell on something unpleasant, I turned in my seat slightly to look at Naruto, smirking when I saw him looking down at his textbook with a lost expression. He obviously didn't get what Mizuki was explaining, and the look of confusion on his face was adorable.

Behind him, Sakura was whispering something, obviously trying to help him get the basics of the lesson, and every now and then his face would light up in understanding before he read yet another thing and his face fell once more. It was amusing to say the least.

I was perfectly happy to continue watching my boyfriend throughout the lesson when something slammed down in front of me. My Uchiha instincts kicked in, and I didn't jump, but I did snap my head around in surprise.

Mizuki stood towering above me, a vicious snarl on his face as he held the heavy textbook down on my desk.

"Eyes forward, Uchiha." He growled. I glared back up at him, stiffly moving my body until it was facing forward.

"Yes. Sir." I said jerkily, making sure to add a hiss to get my anger across. Mizuki narrowed his eyes, his glare intensifying. I held it with my own, since no one could beat the Uchiha glare.

The entire class was on edge now, every set of eyes focused on Mizuki and I. He was challenging me. I could feel it. It was a challenge that, should I lose, the consequences would be severe. I had no idea what the prize was, or what the loser would lose, but I wouldn't back away. It went against everything in my being to back away.

I wouldn't let down.

The bell sounded loud and shrill in the tense classroom, and several people jumped noticeably from the sudden noise. Mizuki blinked at the sound before pulling himself away from my desk, dragging the book along with him.

"Class dismissed. Get out of my sight."

There was a flurry of movement as everyone grabbed their things and shoved them into their bags in their haste to leave.

I packed up at my normal pace, keeping one eye on Mizuki. He was sitting at his desk, looking deep in angry thoughts by the way his snarl never left.

"Sasuke!" Naruto hissed as he came up to my desk, his bag hanging firmly over his shoulder. "Hurry up will you!" he whispered, glancing nervously at Mizuki.

I did the same, blinking when I saw he was watching us. I scowled at him, shoving my last textbook in my bag and swinging it over my shoulder. When I looked over to Naruto, his brows were furrowed in concern as he waited nervously. My eyes softening, I reached over and ran my hand through his hair in the way I knew he enjoyed. Sure enough, his worried expression was replaced with a content smile. I gave him a small smirk in return.

"Come on, we don't want to be late for English." I said quietly, stroking his head one more time before giving him a light push towards the class door. Naruto nodded, grinning hugely as he trotted ahead of me.

As I walked towards the door, I felt another cold shiver run up my spine and glanced over my shoulder briefly before leaving the class without looking back.

Somehow...Mizuki had looked ready to kill.

* * *

**Dun Dun DUUUUUUUUN!**

**Lol, anyone care to try and guess what's up with Mizuki-sensei? Haha.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I am not sure when the next one will come out, but anyway, hopefully the wait won't be so freaking long this time.**

**Sorry about that once again... eheh... **

**LOVE ME! *is hit* Ouch! I'm sick dammit, I'm fragile! *is hit again* Damn you people!**

**Reviews are really great, ya know!  
**


	21. Chapter 21

**XD Hello everyone! Here is another chapter for ya'll! I'm kinda excited to see the response to this one...after the last one, everyone's been making guesses towards Mizuki and his purpose or role in this story. :3 **

**Juura: :3 Hmmmm, how will they react to him in this one, I wonder... *giggles***

**Kao: You enjoy keeping people on edge, don't you? -_-**

**Juura: Why, yes...yes I do. :D**

**Kam: *sighs* You're strange...**

**XD Ahahaha...enjoy the chapter!**

**Online!  
**

* * *

Often when I was younger, I would contemplate the fact that people were often not what they appeared to be. It was an old saying, really, an age old philosophy, or belief, or whatever you wanted to call it.

And I would always think of how true it was.

Like the old lady who lived in the apartment below mine. She always had this kind smile on her face, and she seemed to give off the impression of one of those old lady's that would greet you with a smile before whipping out a random plate of cookies and a glass of milk and offer it to you, along with maybe some mouldy sweets she received from the Queen of France back in the day.

However, I had seen her true self. She was not the type to whip out milk and cookies and rotting sweets, but rather the type that would whip out a giant chainsaw, chop you into bits and then put you into her pies before sending them off to some poor, unsuspecting pie cafe.

Or there was also the man who worked at the convenience store down the road. He always had a sour look on his face, and I had seen how people avoided him because he was one mean looking man with a face representing Shrek as a real person and who walked as if someone was holding a fucking oak tree to his asshole and threatening to 'go all the way'.

But I'd seen how he'd risked his own safety and asshole by actually climbing up an oak tree to rescue a little girl's overly fat kitten and giving it to her with a face that was not quite so ogre-y.

The theory of how people were never what they seemed to be was something that I would often reflect on, and it was just something that would randomly pass through my head, much like those times where my brain would alert me to the fact I was running low on cup ramen.

Today, an average Tuesday, was another such day where that old saying became apparent. However, this time, it was for two different people.

The first, was none other than my very own boyfriend.

Uchiha Sasuke, the raven haired class president.

He gave off a 'cool' and 'stoic' and, in my opinion, 'asshole-ish' aura. People saw him as the quiet, broody type. And they weren't too far off.

But I can tell you all from personal experience that that 'broody' part is just a mask to hide an even darker being. There is a beast within Sasuke. Something within his being that one would never imagine to be residing there.

Yes...I have discovered, only recently that Sasuke has something deep within him.

And what is this most horrific thing, you may ask?

Well, as it turns out.

Uchiha Sasuke, cold bastard class president, star student and 'Devil-does-care-but-not-about-you-noobs' person...is secretly a closet pervert that I've had the misfortune to get wrapped up with.

And this is coming from the guy who knows Jiraiya!

If I can say that Sasuke is a pervert like Jiraiya, then you know it's bad.

It was Tuesday, as I mentioned before, and I was walking to school, much like usual. I arrived, much like usual. I ignored the mean glares and taunts and insults, like usual. I made like a ninja and avoided several death traps set out for me, like usual.

And then, somehow, I was being dragged into a janitors closet by the class president. This was not in the norm.

After that, I found my mouth being fully ravaged by said class president. This was also something that I was not used to, but it was something I knew I'd grow to accept.

Then there were the hands reaching under my shirt, and the leg trying valiantly to part my thighs.

That's when I realized, to my horror, that Sasuke was horny.

And when Sasuke is horny, Sasuke is even scarier than when he's broody.

I thought we'd take it slow, since our relationship was something a little odd. We were best friends, most definitely. And yes, we both really liked each other. But I had never been with someone this way, so all these experiences were new to me.

And quite honestly, I felt more than a bit nervous at how fast he seemed to want to move.

I know plenty of people are probably rolling their eyes and saying 'It's not that fast' and 'Please, there are people who go way further than you did on the first date' and all that jazz.

Yes, I get it.

But as I mentioned, I've been hated my entire life. I have yet to find the reason why.

And because I've been hated, I have never dated.

Enjoy the poetry, it's not going to last.

I know that what we were doing wasn't exactly all that serious, but dammit, to me it was a big step. It was out of the norm. And everyone is uncomfortable and nervous in foreign territory.

So, that is why when I felt that leg, and those hands, and the lips heading towards my collarbone, I reached up to lightly push him away.

"Sasuke hang on!" I said, batting at his shoulders when he continued licking my neck. He pulled away and frowned at me in the dark of the painfully small closet.

"What's wrong?"

"We can't do this here." I whispered, hoping to God that the janitor wasn't on his way over. Lord knows how many homosexual children he, Sasuke and I would breed should he open the door now.

Sasuke frowned. "Why not? There's no one here." Was that a pout I saw?

"I know but someone could walk in! And besides...I...I'm not all that ready for that sort of stuff yet." I mumbled, feeling my face heat up.

Sasuke sighed, pulling me closer and kissing my cheek. "Okay, I understand." He murmured.

I sagged with relief, opening my mouth to thank him when I felt a hand crawling down to a very suspicious area at an even more suspicious pace.

"I understand that I'm going to have to show you that this isn't bad at all." Sasuke said, and I could hear the smirk as loudly as a fog horn in a graveyard.

"Sasuke!" I hissed, reaching down to tug his hand away from the goods. Seriously the merchandise was not to be touched!

But Sasuke was a persistent bastard, I'll admit. It seemed we were having yet another challenge as rivals. Fucked up, abnormal rivals, but rivals nonetheless.

Eventually, we were kissing again, and I was still fending Sasuke's hand away from my goods. But I could feel myself starting to lose this battle, despite my inner protests of how I never lose to him.

Shut up all of you.

Right when my hands seemed to give up on me, and Sasuke smirked in victory, and I could practically feel my innocence getting dragged towards a window, the door opened.

"UCHIHA!"

And once again, I was privy to the sight of Sasuke running full speed away from Kiba.

It was amusing, I admit. Especially when both of them slipped on the wet floor near the corner, and they seemed to do a few figure skating moves before regaining their balance and continuing the chase.

Sakura came up behind me, shaking her head at our two friends. "Those two. I just don't get it." She sighed.

I laughed, adjusting my shirt and bag. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Kiba was all for getting you and Sasuke together, and yet now that you are, it's as if he's adamant to make sure you guys don't do anything romantic." She said, her hands on her hips as she watched Sasuke and Kiba run in circles around each other.

I hummed thoughtfully, leaning against the wall. "Maybe he's just a weirdo that way?" I suggested, grinning.

Sakura snorted. "Did you only figure that out now?" she teased. I snickered, reaching over to lightly tap her shoulder in punishment. She did the same, only minus the 'light' part.

"Ouch! Sakura-chan!" I whined, rubbing my abused arm. She only smiled as the bell rang up ahead.

"Come on, we'd better get to class." She said, motioning for me to follow. I nodded, falling into step beside her.

Sasuke and Kiba soon came running past us towards the classroom door. It seemed Sasuke was holding Kiba's bag, using it as a way to keep Kiba from ripping his balls off. However, when he reached the door he spun around and threw Kiba's bag in the opposite direction.

"Fetch boy!" he ordered before slipping into the classroom.

Sakura and I laughed hysterically at Kiba's face, which clearly showed he was torn between getting his bag since he needed it, or not getting since that would make him follow Sasuke's dog-order.

I fell into my seat for Biology, and leant back, stretching. The rest of the class soon filled up, with everyone chattering away, mostly about the upcoming sports festival. From what I knew, it was almost completely organized, with only a few more things left. Sasuke had been kept after school more than once, and called away during his break times even more to help with preparations. He had told us that the festival wasn't all it's being made out to be, but since it was obvious that he was not happy about it, we decided not to take his word for it.

I was actually looking forward to it, since it would be cool not to have to work, and it was something that sounded fun.

Sasuke had told me his family was going to be there, even though he wasn't actually participating in any of the events himself. I was looking forward to spending time with the Uchiha family again. It would be the first time I would be with them in public, and somehow, I guess I had hopes that perhaps the other students and people would lay off my back a bit if they saw the Uchiha's accepting me.

Shikamaru was asleep on his desk behind me, and I turned to poke his head when Asuma-sensei walked into the class room. He yawned widely and sat back, grumbling about annoying teachers interrupting his nap time. I grinned and turned back to face the front, leaning against my hand and watching the board with glazed eyes.

Sasuke still helped me with Biology on occasion when I got stuck, and I'd found this class seemed to be a lot easier now that I had people to explain the things I didn't get the first time round. I was still marvelling at how much my life had changed recently.

And I didn't really do anything different to cause it.

It all started when Sasuke, or Avenger had asked to meet me. Everything had started changing after that.

I smiled to myself, thinking that if it weren't for the online game Shaiya, Sasuke and I might never have started playing together, and none of this would have happened.

And then parents have the gall to say games are a waste of time.

Ha!

Fools! They should know better than that.

Asuma-sensei was explaining to the students about something or another, but I just wasn't really concentrating. The weather was really nice today, and the sky was a clear blue for once. I was looking out the window, admiring the way the sun's light would cause the metal panes to sparkle slightly.

Well shit, it seems the sparkly vampire references were everywhere! I was almost expecting a werewolf to gallop past before changing into a shirtless sweaty jock and flashing a bright, perfect smile.

Suddenly, the class around me seemed to quiet down, and I snapped out of my daze at the change, turning to see what had happened. I swallowed thickly when I saw a pair of eyes staring at me.

"Oh, hello. What brings you to my classroom today, Mizuki?" Asuma-sensei asked, leaning back against his desk and crossing his arms.

Mizuki looked at him before sighing. "Uzumaki Naruto needs to come with me quickly." He said, his voice showing that he didn't want to be here. Everyone turned to look at me, and I could feel Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba and even Shikamaru's worried gazes.

I gulped again, wondering what Mizuki wanted me for and slowly stood up. Asuma-sensei was watching Mizuki, seeming to think about something. Before I could leave the classroom, however, he spoke up.

"Hang on, Uzumaki. Mizuki, why do you need to borrow my student?" he asked. Mizuki sighed.

"The headmaster wants to speak to him about something. I'm not sure what, I was just told to call him." He said, sounding a little annoyed at all the questioning.

Asuma-sensei hesitated for a moment, before shrugging. "Well, okay. Just try not to keep him too long. This lesson is pretty important, so he can't miss too much."

At this Mizuki sneered. "I'm sure Uchiha-kun will be _more _than happy to tutor him on the things he misses." He said coldly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke tense and glare darkly at Mizuki while everyone else looked between Sasuke, Mizuki and I, confused.

Mizuki motioned for me to hurry up, and I followed him out the class, sending a last nervous glance to my friends. I could see Sakura and Kiba whispering to each other frantically, and Shikamaru and Sasuke watching after us intently.

Mizuki started walking towards the principal's office. "Hurry up Uzumaki. I don't have all day." He called. I quickly caught up, walking just a little behind him. I won't deny that I felt more than a little apprehensive as to why I was called away. So far as I knew, I hadn't broken any rules or done anything wrong, so why would the principal need me?

Suddenly, my eyes widened in horror. Had someone seen Sasuke and me making out somewhere on the school grounds during the week and told the Dean? Is that why I was being called?

But then if that was the case, how come Sasuke wasn't called as well?

I was confused and nervous over this, I even failed to notice we'd arrived until Mizuki was poking at my shoulder.

"Come on. Go in." He growled impatiently.

Gulping, I knocked once before walking in, seeing the school's headmaster Sarutobi-sensei sitting at his desk, looking at a paper intently. He looked up and smiled slightly when he saw us.

"Hello Naruto-kun. How are you today?" he asked, motioning for me to take a seat.

"Uh, I'm okay sir, and yourself?" I asked politely, sitting down and clutching the chair tightly. He nodded.

"I'm good, thank you. I'm sorry to call you away from your lessons, but there's just something we need to sort out." He said, shuffling through the papers on his desk. I nodded meekly, glancing around the office. Believe it or not, I hadn't actually been called to the principal's office all that much, so it was a bit nerve wracking.

The walls were painted white and they seemed to shine from the sunlight that came pouring in from a large window behind his desk. Pictures of entire classes and groups of teachers were framed on the walls, and a few personal family photos were adorning the desk. A pot plant, leafy and green and flourishing, sat in one corner next to a small, comfortable looking chair. The floor was simple carpet, beige in colour and finishing off the room nicely.

I fidgeted a bit in my chair, waiting for him to further explain what I was called for. Mizuki was standing in a corner, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and looking out the window blankly.

Finally, after a few moments, Sarutobi-sensei pulled out a slip of paper, reading over it quickly before looking at me.

"Naruto-kun, you know of the school sports festival that's coming up next week, correct?" he asked and smiled in return to my nod. "Well, the thing is, all students need to get this slip signed by their parents or guardian. It's a rule, you see. However...in your case..." he trailed off. The rest was obvious after all.

I had no parents, and to be perfectly honest, I had no guardian either. While there were people who acted as semi-guardians, like Iruka, and sometimes Jiraiya and Tsunade, they weren't my official guardians.

"Sir, do I not count as an independent? I have no guardian or parent. I receive a small sum of money from the government to help pay for my apartment and food." I asked.

Sarutobi-sensei hummed, leaning back in his chair. "I know that, however, you are still at an age where, while you are able to get a job, live on your own and be independent, this school's rules still see sixteen as an age under guardianship. In other words, you still need a signature to attend." He said, frowning sadly.

I sighed, already guessing that I might have to miss the sports day after all. However, before I could leave, Sarutobi-sensei spoke up again.

"However, I spoke to the school board, and they agreed that if one of your teachers signed a form that said they would take responsibility for you on that day, then you could still attend." He said.

I blinked. A teacher? I supposed that was a fine idea, but the question was, which teacher would I ask? Not all of my teachers liked me, Mizuki was just one example. Asuma-sensei seemed to be alright, but I remembered him mentioning he wouldn't be at the school during the sports day. Kakashi-sensei might sign, but then again, I didn't really know him. And he was weird. And he was always reading a suspicious book. I was sure it was porn, since I'd seen Jiraiya's name on it once.

"So, do you know of a teacher that wouldn't mind?" Sarutobi-sensei was asking. I thought for a moment, wondering which teacher I could ask.

Suddenly, there was a soft huff from behind me before I felt someone leaning over me towards the desk.

"I'll sign it, Sarutobi-san."

I blinked before whipping my head around to stare incredulously at Mizuki. He didn't even spare me a glance as he took the pen Sarutobi-sensei was offering and scribbled his name on the paper.

"Excellent. You are his homeroom teacher, so that makes it all the better. Now that that's sorted, you may leave Naruto-kun. Sorry for bothering you like this." The principal said, smiling. I nodded absently, still staring at Mizuki in disbelief. He was already heading towards the door, as if he had not just pulled a complete one-eighty in personality by actually doing something that would benefit me.

I rose from my seat, bowing slightly at the principal and offering a 'Good day sir' to him before I hurried after Mizuki, seeing him heading towards the staff room. Just before he went through the door, I found my voice and called out again.

"S-Sensei!"

He paused, barely turning his head to look at me over his shoulder. I stopped, clutching the sheet of paper that gave me permission to attend the festival. The piece of paper he'd signed. Still feeling completely thrown for a loop by his actions, I swallowed.

"Uh...Just...Thank you. For...you know, signing and...stuff." I stumbled out, looking around awkwardly. Mizuki stared at me for a minute before giving an almost invisible nod and walking through the door, disappearing from my sight.

I was stunned. Mizuki had always hated me, and actually gone out of his way on occasion to do something to make me miserable. And yet now he had done something that made me happy. I wanted to attend the sports festival. I'd said it before. He could see it. Hell, anyone could see it, since I could jabber on about it excitedly unless someone slapped a hand over my mouth. So why had he signed? Why had he helped? He was proving that old saying once more.

Was Mizuki different than he appeared after all? But why now?

I stood in the middle of the hallway, staring at the door blankly before my body registered that I wasn't supposed to be there. In a confused daze, I trudged back towards my Biology class.

Once again, I knocked on the door before coming in. The class looked up at me when I came in, and Asuma-sensei raised an eyebrow at my dazed look, but dismissed it and told me to take my seat.

I could feel the curious gazes of my friends, and a short glance showed that each of them with the exception of Shikamaru and Sasuke, who was actually not even in the classroom for some reason, were itching to get out of their seats and come bombard me with questions.

I sat down, still clutching the piece of paper in my hand. It was almost surreal. Any moment, I expected Mizuki's signature to disappear, but it didn't.

As soon as Asuma-sensei resumed the lesson, Shikamaru leant forwards.

"Hey, Naruto." He hissed softly. "What's up with you?" he asked.

I leant back slightly, looking at him out of the corner of my eyes. "I am really confused right now."

"Why?"

Silently, I handed him the paper, making sure Asuma-sensei didn't see. If he did, he didn't do anything.

Shikamaru read over it, seeming to not understand my confusion. However, when he saw who had signed it, he paused, and I could see the gears in his head spinning out of control as they processed everything.

"...Why?" he asked, after a long silence. I shrugged, taking the piece of paper from him and facing the front again, my eyes staring ahead.

"I honestly don't know."

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

When Naruto was called away, by Mizuki no less, I'd been more than a little apprehensive. Naruto had told me long ago how Mizuki hated him, and it wasn't that hard to believe since I'd seen it firsthand many times before. We'd both spent a while trying to come up with reasons as to why he seemed to loathe Naruto so much. But at the end, we concluded that it was the same reason everyone else seemed to have issues.

And that reason is still a mystery to us.

Two minutes after Naruto left the room, I couldn't relax. I was concerned. If someone had seen Naruto and I kissing during the week, I had no doubt that they'd report it, just to get at Naruto. And since it's me, they might not even mention me, thereby sparing me from trouble.

On top of that, there was the way Mizuki had been acting lately. I wouldn't put it past him to suddenly make up some excuse to drag Naruto away and make him miserable with detention, or another form of punishment. Perhaps even something worse.

That's when another thought struck me, and I felt frozen in my seat.

Would Mizuki ever _physically hurt_ Naruto?

I knew he had a record for being a bit of a hot tempered teacher, and often he would knock things over on his desk when the students were particularly annoying. But would he ever go as far as to _actually _hit Naruto with the flesh of his own hand?

The thought made my stomach tighten in anger and fear. If I ever saw that, I know that I would lose it. If Mizuki laid a hand on Naruto, I would not hesitate to destroy him on the spot for daring to touch my boyfriend.

Before my brain could really process anything, my body was moving and my hand was in the air.

"Yes, Uchiha?"

"May I please be excused to the bathroom?"

"...Alright. But try not to take too long."

"Yes sir. Thank you."

I was out of the classroom in a blur, and it took a lot of will power to stop myself from sprinting towards the principal's office. The hallways were empty since everyone else was in class, with the exception of a few students or teachers hurrying to another classroom. I was nearing the principal's office when the door opened and Mizuki walked out. Feeling a moment of panic, I darted into the nearest door and ended up in the staff room.

I could hear footsteps getting closer, and felt my heart beat wildly in realization that Mizuki was heading towards me. Scanning the room, I saw a small alcove for the window, the curtains tied back.

Without much time to think, I ran towards it, climbing up on the sill and untying the curtains, yanking them closed in front of me. It was, without a doubt, one of the worst hiding places ever, but I was out of options when I heard the door open.

I tried to sit as still as possible, leaning against the window. I heard Mizuki open the door and suddenly another voice called out. One which I instantly recognized as Naruto.

"S-Sensei!" there was a pause before he continued, his voice coming out a bit weak and awkward, and I could picture him standing there, shuffling his feet and his blue eyes darting around unsurely. "Uh...Just...Thank you. For...you know, signing and...stuff."

I wondered what he was talking about, but couldn't dwell on it when I heard Mizuki enter the room and close the door.

There went my exit.

I clenched my fists, wondering how I was going to get out of here and get back to class. I could hear Mizuki shuffling around, most likely making a cup of coffee and sitting down to relax on the couch or something. I glanced around and saw that there was a tree growing in the school garden very close to the window. If I jumped...

Feeling more than a little weary of this new plan, but not really seeing any other options, I turned and sneakily pulled the window open. Thankfully it didn't make any noise, and I sent a silent thanks to the janitors and caretakers who kept the windows clean and the hinges well oiled.

After I got the window open, I edged towards the frame, holding onto the edges and wondering the about the best way to jump without making too much noise.

Finally, I decided that I'd just go and hope for the best. If I got caught, I'd just have to deal with it if it happened. I'm sure I'd be able to come up with something and if not, I didn't really mind a detention or two. It would just be very awkward, and no doubt Itachi would have a good laugh at my poor spy skills.

Letting my legs stick out the window and press against the wall below, I slid closer to the edge, cursing in my head over the fact that the principal's office and staff room was on the second floor instead of the first. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself, and eyed the branch I was going to make a leap for. It looked sturdy enough, and landing on it shouldn't be too hard. I just hoped it wasn't a deceiving branch that would snap at my weight and make me fall to possible death or serious injury.

Knowing that stalling wouldn't help, I grit my teeth before shoving myself forward, withholding any grunts and resisting the urge to give a war-cry for luck. I sailed through the air, stretching out my arms and legs towards the branch. I saw my one leg go over it and knew I'd make it.

However, only one leg went over. The other didn't.

Which meant, of course, that when I landed on the branch, it shot up between my legs and left me doubling over, clutching onto it and gasping for breath, my fingers cracking the flaky bark and my legs dangling limply on either side as pain flared in my lower half.

It was times like these I cursed having a weak point that dangled on the outside. It was such an inconvenience.

With my eyes watering at the pain, I straightened my back and glanced towards the window. Luckily, the curtains were still closed and there was no one around. Thankful that no one had seen any of what just transpired, I thought of how to get down. When I realized I was quite a ways away from the trunk of the tree, I almost whimpered. I'd have to slide towards it, since I couldn't swing my leg over to one side unless I wanted to fall.

Biting my lip, I slowly began sliding towards the trunk, hissing when my still sensitive crotch hit a nasty part. Seriously, sometimes having balls wasn't something to brag about.

When I finally made it to the trunk, I was able to grab another branch and swing my leg over, finally making progress towards the ground. As I went, I could hear the mission impossible theme playing in my mind, and snickered, knowing that it was influenced from hanging around Naruto and Kiba so much.

I sighed once I reached the ground, running a hand through my hair and taking a step, wincing slightly as I did so. Feeling a bit proud that I'd done all that without being seen, I smirked and turned around.

Kakashi was sitting under a tree not too far away, his head tilted back and his face covered by an orange book he always seemed to carry. I froze, one hand in my hair and the other hovering near my painful crotch, and my eyes widened epically.

Time seemed to still for a moment as I stared at the form of my History teacher. He didn't move a muscle.

After tense seconds where I could already see myself dying on the spot, there came a peculiar noise from Kakashi's still figure. I flinched before it sounded again, and I realized with a jolt that he was snoring.

He was fast asleep.

I melted with relief, but didn't let my guard down. As quietly as I could, I edged towards him, wanting to make sure he was asleep and not just holding back laughter at seeing my escapade earlier.

Holding my breath, I peered over at him, reaching out a hand and jabbing him in the side quickly before pulling away and watching with wide eyes.

He just snorted slightly and turned his head the other way, the book sliding down slightly.

I let out a breath of relief and quickly scurried away from him, heading towards the nearest entrance, which happened to be the back door the janitors used. I passed through the foul smelling area, and ran towards the stairs. Once on the second floor, I started jogging towards my classroom, pausing outside to catch my breath and fix my outfit so that there were no twigs or leaves anywhere.

Knocking quickly, I slid open the door and stepped inside. Asuma-sensei glanced up from his book and blinked, then nodded at my seat, which translated as 'I acknowledge your return, now sit down, shut up and learn shit'.

I believe I once mentioned I was fluent in 'nods'.

As I got to my seat, I saw Naruto sitting in his, looking dazed as usual. Glad he was somewhat alright, I made a note to speak to him later about whatever had gone down with Mizuki. As I sat, Kiba who was seated behind me sniffed the air before covering his mouth and narrowing his eyes at me.

"You smell like shit that got eaten and regurgitated my a sick cow." He hissed.

I sighed and kicked my leg back, striking him in the shin. He let out a strangled cry, making everyone look at him. Asuma-sensei chuckled.

"Very good Inuzuka. That is the exact sound that a hyena might make when going through a rough birth. But next time, please ask before doing a vocal demonstration." He said.

The class laughed and I smirked over at Kiba, who glared at me and mouthed that he would kill me later.

I just tilted my head up slightly at the challenge before facing the front, but not before looking over at Naruto and catching his eye. I sent him a small wink, and he returned it with a smile and a resigned shake of the head before he too turned to the front.

And so the day continued on.

* * *

**XD Sasuke's part was completely spur of the moment! I didn't even realize I was writing it until I got to the Kakashi sleeping part. Because then I had to think about whether to add that or not, and just decided 'Aw to hell with it. Let's put it in.'**

**Kao: XD Lol! That's what _he_ said!**

**Juura: *slaps him* Shut up.**

**Kam: Heheh. I wonder what people will say about this chapter...**

**Kao: XD I enjoyed seeing Sasuke get hurt like that. Tree:1 Sasuke:0.**

**Juura: First the couch, now the tree. Inanimate objects are hard players for sure. XD**

**Ahahah, excuse my randomness! :3 and what'cha think about Mizuki now, hmm? Muahahhaa!**

**To be honest, right now I'm having a bit of a dilemma concerning the next couple of chapters...there are two ways to go, and I'm wondering which way to go...because one option is simplest, since it was my first choice and is most planned out, however, the next option is also very appealing, but I'd have to do some serious twisting and turning to write it out and make it work without getting everything confused...**

**XD Reviews make great belated Christmas gifts! (Oh yeah...I WENT there!)  
**


	22. Chapter 22

***giggles like mad* Oh Oh Oh, it's finally here...Ooh ah ooh ah, It's gonna be busy! **

**Kao: Wtf?**

**Kam: *nudges him* C'mon bro! It's finally here! Ya know, _it_!**

**Kao: Huh? What're you...OH! _IT_! I get it now! *starts cackling evilly* This ought to be interesting.**

**...yes, yes, the time has come my pretties...the time for '_it_' has arrived... Read on, my dears, if ye wish to find out more! Things are gonna be tense now!**

**Online!  
**

* * *

The piercing shriek of my alarm pulled me from my slumber, and I groaned loudly, reaching out blindly and slapping my hand around until the shrieking was gone and my arm flopped down uselessly. For a blissful moment I entertained the thought of sleeping a bit longer, but something was nagging at the back of my mind, and after a moment of thinking it became clear.

Today was the Sports festival at school.

I hissed out a soft curse as I rolled off the bed, landing on a soft pile of blankets that I'd set down there the night before for a very important reason. My face was buried in the blankets for a total of five seconds before I shot up, wide-awake and scrambled to get away from the pile of linen that _stunk_ of ass and sweat and Lord knows what else managed to get on them.

That was the reason. Those blankets were my back-up alarm.

Yawning, I shuffled through to the bathroom. Cautiously, I turned on my shower, and as expected the water spat out at full force, but this time my face wasn't there to get hit by the deadly stream. After a few seconds, it died down to an acceptable spray, and I turned the hot water all the way up, knowing it would only get to reasonable warmth anyway.

Stepping back, I yanked my shirt over my head, hissing when it got caught on my chin and forced my head to snap up. Once it was off, I tossed it to the side, glancing to the mirror while I reached for my boxers. I paused when I noticed the dark hickeys along my chest, and my cheeks heated slightly at the remembrance. Sasuke had come home with me the other day, and he'd gotten a bit enthusiastic. Once again, I was surprised with how eager he could be. He had that stoic mask on his face, and yet as soon as I flashed a bit of skin, his tail was wagging madly and he was practically humping my leg.

Snickering at the image of Sasuke doing that with a set of goofy ears on his head, I yanked down my boxers and hopped into the shower, starting my usual morning routine.

After I had cleaned myself, brushed my teeth and tried and failed to tame my hair, I padded over to the kitchen, pulling open my fridge and frowning at the sight of vegetables amongst other things. Sasuke and Sakura had teamed up against me and forced me to buy vegetables the one time I went shopping with them. I had vowed _never _to do grocery shopping with them again; since they seemed convinced I ate rabbit food.

The fools.

While I reluctantly munched on an apple as I got my things together, my phone went off.

'_...But if I were gay, I would give you my heart! And if I were gay, you'd be my work of art! And if I were gay, we would swim in romance! But I'm not gay, so get your hand out of my pants...' _**(1)**_  
_

I chuckled at the ringtone Kiba had undoubtedly set on my phone, and reached over, flipping it open and pressing it to my ear.

"Yo!"

"Dobe."

"Hey Sasuke, what's up? Why call so early?"

"Just telling you that-" I blinked when it sounded like the phone was ripped away from Sasuke's hands, and in the background I could hear his indignant grumbling before my ear was filled with Mikoto's voice.

"Naruto-kun, we'll be waiting for you at the school gates, alright! I want us all to find a good spot to watch the games together!"

I grinned, already heading towards the door. "That sounds great! I'll see you then!" I said, before she trilled a goodbye and hung up. Before the phone was put down, I heard Sasuke talking.

"Mom! I wanted to annoy him!"

I laughed out loud, gaining some odd and scathing looks from the other tenants that were around, but as usual I ignored them and continued on my way.

Since it was the sports day, none of the students had to report to classes of any kind. There would be a register right before the events began. However, since I was only allowed to go due to having a teacher's permission, I had to find Mizuki-sensei and just let him know than I was there, and where I would most likely be. Chances were he'd just take down notes and then go off to do his own thing, but I had no problems with that. That would be perfect, actually.

I was still confused as to why he had agreed to be the one responsible for me in the first place, and I'd discussed it with everyone during break. Sakura had said that maybe he was trying to be a better person.

Kiba and I had had a good laugh at that. Well, at least until Sakura nearly punched us through the wall. Sasuke had theorized that perhaps the headmaster had talked to him beforehand, but I knew that couldn't have been the case. If it were, then he wouldn't have bothered asking me about which teacher I could get to sign, and he wouldn't have looked that surprised when Mizuki offered.

When we'd asked Shikamaru, he'd just shrugged, turned over and fallen asleep. I'd noticed he'd seemed a bit quiet the last couple of days, and often I'd caught him looking deep in thought over something.

I hummed thoughtfully, walking across the street with everyone else. Shikamaru had started acting a bit odd ever since one biology lesson. I couldn't remember anything strange happening in it that could signify what was wrong. In fact, all that I could remember was I arrived at the class with Sasuke, and when I'd sat down, Shikamaru had asked me if Sasuke ever sent me notes in class. When I'd told him that he'd only ever sent a note in maths class, and even then it was a once in a blue moon thing, Shikamaru had nodded and gone quiet.

Too quiet.

Ever since then, he'd been acting a bit odd.

I wondered what was wrong with him, and decided to ask him if I saw him today.

Suddenly, my stomach let out a loud grumble, and I paused on the sidewalk, looking down at it. I knew having nothing but an apple wouldn't be enough. I'd been eating a lot more lately, courtesy of Sasuke's mother sending food over with him when he would come around to visit. She'd even sent Itachi over with Chinese take-out one night when Sasuke was studying at my house.

Itachi had had great fun teasing us while we ate, but Sasuke and I had finally gotten revenge when we managed to pull the Ass-Blanket over Itachi's head and trap him there for a minute. Needless to say, he'd spent a good deal of time sniffing his food to try and rid himself of the all powerful scent of ass.

Looking around, I saw my usual cafe nearby and decided I could spare some change for a sandwich for the walk to school.

I hurried towards it, barely managing to save myself from bumping into someone before I made it through the doors of Cafe 99, sighing when the warmth of the shop engulfed me. Quickly darting my eyes around to the take-out counter, I smiled at seeing the usual blonde sitting there, a piece of pocky in her mouth and a book in her hands.

I walked up to the counter and grinned. "Hey Juura. Still reading Icha Icha Yaoi Paradise?" I asked teasingly. She started at the sound of my voice and looked up, her cheeks tingeing slightly pink while she fumbled to mark her place and put the book away.

"Oh, hey kid. So what'll it be today?" she asked, fingers poised over the register to take the order. I scanned the menu and decided on a simple ham and cheese sandwich. She nodded, punching it in and taking the money before turning towards the kitchen.

"Kao! I need a slice of a pig wrapped in melted sunshine and rested between wheat!" she hollered. There was a crash from the kitchen before what looked like a clove of garlic came shooting out of the small window. She managed to catch it just before it hit her face, and smirked as someone called back out to her.

"For Christ's sake can't you ever give me an order without scaring the shit out of me!.?"

"That would be too boring!" she called back.

I snickered when a string of curses sounded from the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, I scanned the small cafe, seeing a few customers sitting down. Most of them were either on laptops, phones or scribbling in notebooks. I couldn't see any textbooks, and their ages varied. I figured perhaps people often came to this small cafe to do assignments or work, since it was usually reasonably quiet as long as the chef and the cashier weren't trying to kill each other.

"So, how are things for you?" Juura asked casually. I blinked and smiled.

"They're fine. As good as can be, I guess."

"Mmhm...How's that raven haired friend of yours?" I was taken aback by the question. I hadn't expected her to remember Sasuke. Hell, she hardly spoke to me, even though I often stopped by. She was usually too absorbed with her little porn book. Vaguely, I wondered if I should introduce her to Kakashi-sensei. They might become good friends.

"Uh...he's fine. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged, but I could see a faint smirk on her lips, and I hoped she wasn't secretly a Sasuke fan girl. That would be rather uncomfortable.

"Just wondering if he'd grown the balls and asked you out yet."

I almost lost my footing at the blunt sentence, and judging by the way she burst out laughing, I guessed my shock was shown on my face.

"What?.!"

"Oh, did he not grow any balls yet?" she asked, amused. I shook my head, trying to keep up with the sudden strange conversation.

"Uh, no, no! He did! I mean...wait, how did you know he wanted to ask me out?" I inquired. She shrugged, leaning on the counter and absently playing the with menu in front of her.

"Just got those vibes. Also, Mizuru wouldn't shut up about the two of you when you guys came here together. I swear, after she got you guys to your table, she practically ambushed me on my way to the bathroom, yakking on and on about how there were two hot guys on a date in our cafe."

I gaped in shock, but before the conversation could continue, Juura's head suddenly slammed down against the counter. I jumped at the noise, before a warm bag holding my order was thrust into my face. Shakily, I took the bag and saw the red haired chef standing behind the counter, one hand pressing down on the blonde cashier's head and the other now saluting me.

"There ya go! One ham and cheese sandwich. Hope you have a good day and come again and all that jazz. Also, good luck with your boyfriend." He said, his green eyes sparkling and his mouth pulled back in a wide, slightly psychotic grin. He looked like he was about to torture someone for fun.

Gulping slightly, I backed away, nodding. Juura was struggling against the hand on her head, hissing and swiping at the guy behind her who seemed oblivious to her scathing words and death threats.

Giving a weak grin, I waved and quickly stepped outside, hurrying towards school once again, pulling the sandwich out and starting to devour it. It didn't matter how insane that chef was, he was fucking good.

I jogged through the busy streets, crumpling up the paper bag and tossing it into a passing trash can. People were swarming around me, and I saw a few students I recognized from the school walking towards the gats up ahead. More than half were walking with their friends and parents, and I tried to ignore the small twinge in my chest at seeing all the whole families together. It was something I'd never gotten to experience.

"Naruto-kun! Over here!"

At least, not before now.

I looked up and grinned, waving wildly at the group of pale-skinned, dark haired Uchiha's standing near the front gates. Besides them were Kiba and his mother, his older sister, and her boyfriend. I held back a laugh when I noticed Kiba and said boyfriend, Takeshi, I believe his name was, were glaring at each other.

Not too far off I could see Sakura with her mother and father, and when she caught sight of me I waved frantically, making her grin and wave back.

Sasuke walked out of the gates to meet me, and Kiba quickly broke off his glaring contest to join, getting me in a headlock as soon as I was within range.

"Yo Naruto! Looking forward to the day?" he called cheerily. I laughed, getting out of his hold by poking him in the sides. As soon as I was cleared, Sasuke came up behind me, discreetly brushing his hand over my lower back before he casually slung an arm over my shoulders.

"Dobe. You took your time." He said blankly. I grinned and poked his cheek repeatedly.

"I got hungry and stopped at that cafe near my place. You know, the one which that blonde girl, who you insist is the ominous being that decides your pitiful fate, works?" I said. Sasuke smirked, already leading me back towards his family while Kiba tailed along, keeping his eyes trained on Sasuke's hand.

"Your hand goes anywhere near his ass, it's going to get bitten off. Understand Uchiha?" Kiba warned from behind us.

Sasuke sent a smug smirk over his shoulder before he reached down and pinched my butt. I had expected this, so I didn't make a sound, but I did poke him in the side. It seemed Sasuke enjoyed toying with Kiba and making him angry. Almost as much as he seemed to enjoy riling me up before trying to molest me.

Sure enough, Kiba let out a growl, and Sasuke quickly unwound his arm from my shoulders and took off, Kiba hot on his heels and yelling out threats.

As I neared the Uchiha's, Mikoto quickly stepped forward and pulled me into a hug which I gladly returned.

"It's so nice to see you again, Naruto-kun!" she said with a smile. I nodded, returning her greeting. She looked very nice in a simple blue sundress. Her silky black hair was tied up in a pony tail, but a few strands of hair hung around her face, giving a carefree elegance to her features. It was amazing how she could look so regal and formal, while still being completely casual. I guessed it was an Uchiha thing.

Fugaku was wearing black slacks and a white button up shirt. It was still pretty formal, but then again I found it extremely hard to imagine him wearing shorts and a T-shirt. He just wasn't the type.

Then again, he did seem to enjoy wearing nothing but a mini-bathrobe when he was at home. But once again, all the Uchiha's acted slightly different when at home away from prying eyes.

Itachi was wearing dark jeans and a black t-shirt that clung to his form. Despite the casual wear, he still looked intimidating and formal, like a mix between his mother and father. It was most definitely an Uchiha thing.

Fugaku walked up and gave pat on the shoulder. "It's good to see you. You're doing well?" he asked.

"Yes sir." I said. He nodded and stepped back, Mikoto looping her arm around his. They turned, leading the way. Itachi nodded his greeting to me, and I did the same.

We both shared a look that promised there would be some pranks during the day, undoubtedly.

Itachi smirked and I grinned, the silent challenge issued. Just as we started walking, Sasuke jogged past nonchalantly, coming to a stop behind me. I turned, about to asked what he did to Kiba when the brunette came sprinting past at full speed, shrieking. A group of girls, which I easily recognized as Sasuke's fan club-yes, he had one of those- were chasing after Kiba, shrieking even louder than him about how they would never let him hurt their 'precious Sasuke-sama'.

I watched them go before turning to look at Sasuke, mouth hanging open. "Seriously?"

He sighed. "I didn't plan for them to come around the corner when Kiba was about to punch me. It's his fault, not mine." He defended with a bored glance at the now panicking brunette. Kiba was backed against a wall, looking much like a cornered animal.

I watched him for a moment, feeling pity at his terrified expression before I sighed and swatted Sasuke's arm.

"Go tell them to leave him alone." I ordered. Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but I gave him a stern look-the one I'd seen Mikoto use- and pointed towards Kiba. "_Go_!"

Sasuke shut up at the look, undoubtedly feeling shocked that I knew it before he grumbled and walked over to Kiba's side, talking quickly to calm the fan girls. They calmed down immediately, and it took little effort to see the hearts throbbing in their eyes.

I walked over to where the Uchiha family was now standing with Sakura's parents and Kiba's mother. It seems Hana and Takeshi had gone off somewhere. Somehow I figured that Kiba would vanish as soon as he realized that fact.

Sakura came up and hugged me, which I returned by picking her up and swinging her around. She laughed when I set her down, and I decided to focus on her rather than the slightly disapproving looks her parents were giving us.

"Hey Sakura-chan. Sleep well?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yep. Slept like a baby. At least until my alarm went off." I said, scowling. She laughed again, tapping-_killing_- my arm before turning to introduce herself to the Uchiha family.

Sasuke and Kiba finally made their way over, having gotten free of the fan girls. Kiba was grumbling at the Uchiha.

"I could've gotten out of there myself." He muttered. Sasuke scoffed.

"Yeah right. You're were practically wetting yourself." He said. Kiba growled, and was about to lunge at him when he paused, his eyes roving over the families.

"Hey, where's Hana and that jerk-face she calls a boyfriend?" he asked.

Tsume snorted. "Kiba, you really need to get over yourself. Takeshi's a fine young boy."

"He's a jerk."

"And you're not?" Sasuke countered. Kiba sent him a scowl, but otherwise ignored him in favour of scanning the school grounds. He spotted something and growled out loud.

"I'll be right back." He said. Before he was completely gone, however, Sasuke hissed out.

"Cock-blocker!"

Kiba flipped him off over his shoulder, running through the crowds to do his self-appointed job of making his sister's boyfriend suffer.

"Well, shall we all find some good spots to sit and watch the games then?" Mikoto suggested, to the chorused agreement of everyone else. Sasuke stayed close to me, once again being my secret boyfriend. Neither of us were comfortable with coming out to the others just yet, especially since I was sure Sasuke's fan club would try to honestly tear me limb from limb if they found out I was dating their idol.

We all walked around the field, where everything would be held, before finding some good seats that let us have a good view while still having some shade and being comfortable. Students and their families swarmed around us, finding seats and settling down, chatting. I saw some of the school's jocks grouping together, surrounded by a few giggling girls and looking rather pleased with themselves.

That is, of course, until one of the girls spotted Sasuke and pointed, squealing.

Sasuke groaned as the girls left the now pissed off jocks to flock to our spot.

"Sasuke-kun! How are you today?"

I could tell Sasuke wanted to tell them to get lost, but his mother was here and he dare not be rude in her presence.

"I'm fine thank you." He grit out.

The girls gasped, sharing looks. Sasuke had never actually answered their questions before, so this was obviously ground breaking to them. They swarmed even more, and I could see Sasuke struggling to stop from lashing out when they started probing and questioning him at every turn.

I was also suffering, because the high pitched squeals the girls let loose every time Sasuke grudgingly answered a question was grating to my ears. Soon, I was going to snap, but it seemed someone else had a shorter string than I did.

"Excuse me, but we're trying to relax and have a peaceful day, and you're constant questions and high pitched squeaking are really starting to grate on our nerves." Sakura grit out, glaring menacingly at the girls. They all turned to give indignant glares to her, but as soon as she stood up, fist clenched, the fan girls shrieked and scattered, terrified. Sakura huffed in triumph before sitting down, and I reached over to give her a high five, which she gladly returned.

Sasuke melted against me as soon as the girls were gone. "Thank God, I was about to explode on the inside." He grumbled. I chuckled, leaning back against the tree giving us shade and letting Sasuke relax against my chest. There was a light breeze, and aside from the chattering around us, it was a peaceful day.

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. I could hear Mikoto talking to Tsume nearby, while Fugaku and Itachi were having a murmured conversation. Sakura was chatting away with her mother, and faintly, in the distance I could hear Hana screaming at Kiba, undoubtedly angry he had stopped her make-out session. It wasn't long before I could hear Kiba yelling back.

I opened my eyes when I felt two hands discreetly rubbing my sides, and Sasuke tilted his head up to smirk at me. I rolled my eyes, reaching down to poke his head. He only brushed it off and continued tickling my sides.

Sakura looked over, smiling as she saw our antics from her angle, before she frowned. "Naruto." She called, waiting for me to look at her before speaking again. "Didn't you have to check in with Mizuki-sensei before registration?"

My eyes widened, and I shot up, Sasuke toppling over at my sudden movement. "Oh shi-takimushrooms!" I quickly amended with a glance towards Mikoto. "I'll be back!" I called even as I bolted away through the crowds, leaving the Uchiha's behind.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I watched as Naruto darted away through the crowds, admiring the way his ass muscles worked until he was out of sight. Deciding to keep that little thought to myself, I sat up right and leant back against the tree, pulling out one knee and resting my arm on it.

Itachi scooted closer, somehow managing to sit cross legged and still look imposing.

Asshole.

"So Sasuke, things are going well with you and Naruto?" he asked casually. I glanced at him and nodded.

"Yes. Things are fine."

He hummed, his eyes roving over the crowds. After a moment, he turned back to me. "You're serious about him, right?" he asked.

I stilled, but mostly because of the tone he asked that question in. It was almost...warning. As if there would be punishment if I gave the wrong answer. I leant forwards, locking eyes with my brother.

"Of course." I said firmly. Itachi was staring me down, and I met his gaze, wondering what had brought this on suddenly. Itachi pursed his lips, and I noticed him clenching his fists at his side, which only set me on edge. Itachi had something serious on his mind for him to be like this.

Suddenly, he sighed and fixed me with a look that was tired, and almost...pleading.

"Sasuke...don't hurt him. No matter what happens and no matter how things go, do not hurt him. He doesn't deserve any of the pain placed on him." Itachi said, his voice soft but holding the hidden threat.

He wasn't only asking me not to hurt Naruto. He was telling me that there would be deadly consequences should I do so.

I stared at Itachi as he shifted away, quickly getting into a discussion with father before I could question his actions.

Of course I had no intentions of hurting Naruto. I would do whatever I could to prevent that from happening, and I wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone who did something to upset him.

But why was Itachi saying this all of a sudden? What did he mean by 'no matter what happens'? I was feeling more and more confused by the second, and at the same time, something stirred in my gut. A bad feeling was looming, but I chose not to focus on it.

Sakura suddenly looked over and frowned. "Sasuke-kun, look behind you." She said. I blinked, pulled out of my thoughts and glanced over my shoulder. Standing a few feet away was Shikamaru, and he looked extremely distressed. He was staring at me and motioning for me to come over. I stood, as did Sakura, but Shikamaru motioned for her to stay put. She did so, but kept her eyes on us as I could feel her gaze.

I walked over to Shikamaru, barely saying a greeting before he grabbed my arm and started yanking me away. I stumbled slightly, caught off guard by his strength and the urgency I could feel radiating from him.

"Shikamaru? What's going on?" I questioned, feeling my gut clench. Something was wrong here. Shikamaru never got upset over anything. To see him looking so nervous, and for him to be so active was something I'd never seen. And frankly it was making me worried. What could've happened for him to act this way.

He led me a bit further away until we were standing in the corner of the field, away from most of the students.

"Shika-" I was cut off when he turned around, and I saw the worry gracing his face.

"Sasuke, I think Naruto's in trouble." He said. I blinked, my body tensing.

"What do you mean? What the hell is going on?.!" I asked, clenching my teeth.

The students were swarming around us. Registration was beginning, but neither Shikamaru nor I moved.

"Listen, last week I came to biology before any of the other students. I found an envelope on Naruto's chair, placed in a way that one would only see it if they were right up close like I was. In a way that the teacher wouldn't see it." He paused, taking a breath. I felt myself tensing even more. Something was terribly wrong.

"What are you on about?" I asked, almost afraid of what the answer may be.

"I was going to ignore it but...something was telling me to look. I know it wasn't right of me, but I don't care. I looked in the envelope. There was a letter in there, addressed to Naruto." Here Shikamaru looked around nervously, before leaning closer. "Whoever wrote it was going on about how they 'couldn't wait to see him moaning beneath him', and a whole lot of other shit."

My eyes were the size of saucers as Shikamaru continued to talk about the things in the letter. Everything was suggestive and related to Naruto getting fucked by this person. I felt anger licking up my insides like flames. Who was this person? And did Naruto know? Was he...cheating on me?

I clenched my fists at the thought, pushing it aside in favour of hearing everything Shikamaru had to say.

"I didn't tell Naruto about the letter. I kept it with me. I asked him if the two of you sent notes in class, but he said not in Biology, so I knew the letter wouldn't be from you. You aren't the type to write letters like that anyway." Shikamaru glanced around again, his eyes dark and calculating.

The students were gathered near the teachers. Registration was being taken, but still Shikamaru and I stayed in our corner.

"So, I decided to look into it. Something was telling me there was more to this than what met the eye. I asked Sakura if Naruto ever got letters from people, and she'd told me about one time that Naruto had gotten a letter along with a packet of condoms."

I bit my lip to stop from cursing.

"She said that Naruto had no idea who sent it, and had just dismissed it as a wrong address thing. She doesn't know if he received any more, but I think he might have, and just not told us so as to stop Sakura and the rest of us from worrying." Shikamaru hissed.

I glared at the ground. That sounded exactly like something Naruto would do. If there was someone bugging him this way, he'd try to deal with it without getting us involved. He was just that stubborn type of person. He didn't like accepting help, really.

"But that's not it. I asked Kiba about the same thing, and he said that Naruto had once mentioned thinking that someone was following him during one of your biology tutoring sessions."

I snapped up to look at him. I remembered that lesson. It was back when everything first began. Naruto had chased someone after yelling at them to stop staring at him, and then he'd acted strange the whole time afterwards. Had he been followed?

"Kiba hadn't known anything about the letters until then, which is probably why he's become even more adamant about stopping you and Naruto from doing anything too serious. He's suspicious over you. Before, he probably did it to annoy you, or because he was testing you or something."

So that was Kiba's issue. It explained the way he seemed to be. He had been getting more and more intent on stopping Naruto and I from doing more than kissing.

But, if Kiba knew then...

"Wait, does Naruto know you've been looking into this?" I asked. Shikamaru shook his head.

"I told the others not to mention the fact I was doing anything. I wanted to have as much facts as I could from others before confronting Naruto. But things changed after I looked at the last letter again last night." Shikamaru stared at me, and I could clearly see the worry burning in his eyes. "Sasuke, there was a hidden after note. It said that the time this person planned to 'claim' Naruto had arrived, and that everything was prepared. Sasuke...I thought about it, and I'm more than sure that they were talking about-"

"Today..." I breathed, catching on.

Of course it would be today. It was the perfect opportunity to do something. The school would be completely empty, with every singly teacher outside to watch over the events. And the field would be filled with noise, no one would be able to hear someone if they screamed from inside the building.

My heart began to pound frantically against my rib cage as everything sank in. Naruto had some kind of stalker, and they were going to make their move today. But who was it?

"Shikamaru...do you have an idea as to who it is?" I asked, already starting to move. I had to find Naruto. I had to keep him safe.

I had to save him.

"I've been thinking about it for ages, but I've only got guesses." He said, keeping up with my increasingly hurried pace. I was jogging by now, looking around everywhere for that head of blonde hair I adored. Everything seemed to be like a blur to me as the fear started to grow.

I had a few guesses myself as to who might do something to Naruto. But the one at the forefront of my mind was someone who I'd noticed long ago...someone who seemed to have something strange with Naruto. A strange bond, one that was one-sided if I could tell.

That person... could it be...

"A guess is good enough!" I said, starting to run now. Shikamaru kept up the whole time. Distantly, I heard people calling to me, but I ignored them. None of the voices sounded like Naruto, so they didn't matter.

Shikamaru was also running, also looking. "Well, the first guess is-"

"You two! Hang on a moment."

I stopped in my tracks at the voice, feeling Shikamaru falter beside me. Slowly, almost as if it was a dream, I turned to look up at the one who'd called us. Something in my stomach dropped.

"...You..." I whispered.

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I groaned as I jogged through the halls of the school. Registration had started and still I couldn't find Mizuki-sensei. I really didn't feel like getting into trouble, but if I didn't find him soon, I was just going to give up and go back to Sasuke and the others.

I'd asked the other teachers if they'd seen him, and one of the teachers I didn't really know well said they'd seen him heading towards the bathrooms a while ago. I could only hope he was still around there.

Huffing, a little out of breath from running all over the place in search of my maths teacher, I reached the bathroom at last and sighed as I stepped inside.

It was pretty much empty, but that was because three of the stall doors were closed. Taking a timid step forward, I knocked on the first one.

There was no reply. Cautiously, I turned the handle and pushed it open. It was empty aside from a few flies that buzzed away. Frowning, I walked to the next one and knocked. Once again there was no answer. I pushed that one open too, seeing it was also empty.

Grumbling a bit at the stupid jerks that closed the doors, undoubtedly to make people think there was someone inside and wait longer to use the toilets if the others were occupied. Reaching the last closed door, I knocked.

"Mizuki-sensei, are you in there?"

Silence greeted me, and I groaned.

Great.

Well, I gave it a try. But since Mizuki seemed to be playing hide and seek, I was just going to go back to Sasuke. If I saw Mizuki, I'd tell him I searched for him earlier.

However, knowing him, he'd probably just give me detention or trouble anyway. I scowled at my bad luck, feeling miffed.

The door slammed loudly behind me, and I jumped a foot in the air, swinging around and gaping at the new arrival even as the lights flickered dangerously and a deep chuckle, one all too familiar to me, sounded in the room and made my blood run cold.

"...It's you..."

* * *

**(1) - If I Were Gay by Steven Lynch. Hilarious song.**

**Juura: *is sitting silently* ...**

**Kao: ...Well...er...there was the chapter!**

**Kam: We all hope you enjoyed it... *looks away* even if it did end with a cliffie...**

**Juura: *suddenly bursts out laughing***

**Kao: Oooooohhhh-**

**Kam: -kaaaay...**

**Juura: *gasps for air* I'm sorry! I'm just feeling incredibly evil now... *grins* Oh dear, oh dear, what shall become of poor Naruto? Will Sasuke find him in time? And who exactly is the Stalker? It shall be revealed next chapter, at last... But now then... *evil smirk* When will the next chapter come out, I wonder? *teasing chuckle* Well..I suppose it all depends on what sort of response I get to this chapter. *looks a bit nervous* Hopefully, it was good and got ya all on the edge of your seats...right?**

***shrugs* Well, either way. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a review with your thoughts. *puppy dog look***

**Kao/Kam: *cough*-reviewwhore-*cough***

**Juura: I heard that assholes! *pulls out machine gun***

**Kam/Kao: RUN AWAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY! *sprints away, leaving dust clouds behind*  
**


	23. Chapter 23

**TCHAAAADAAAAAAA! *burst in and grins* It's here, like ya'll been waiting for. *smiles* Since I left the last one off with a cliffe, and I know how frustrating it can be when you have to wait for ages, I'm updating soon. **

***smirk* To be honest, I actually had this chapter finished the same day I finished the last one, but I decided to be a bit cruel and wait. *snickers before getting smacked in the face with flying objects* Shit! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! IIIYAAAAAAAAAHHHH! *runs away from furious readers***

**Kao: *clears throat* Soooo...yeah, here's the chapter for ya'll. Sensei actually went over it several times, adding stuff, removing stuff and just trying to make it the best she could.**

**Kam: *peeks in* Oh, and FYI, most of this chapter was written while she listened to the song 'Don't Stop' by InnerPartySystem. Then the last little bits of the chapter were written while listening to-**

**Kao: YOUR GAURDIAN ANGEL! BY THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS! *proud grin* Hah, I remembered the name this time!**

**Kam: *bored clap* Ooh, great job bro. Excellent. *rolls eyes***

**Kao: ...Are you being sarcastic?**

**Everyone: *face-palm***

**WARNINGS: Beating, Molestation, Violence, and Homicidal!Sasuke. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Naruto...but Kao and Kamurou are mine to torture at will. :}**

**Online!  
**

* * *

My heart broke out of its frozen state only to begin beating wildly in panic and fear. The person before me chuckled again, eyes trained on me with a glint in them that seemed animalistic and predatory.

I backed away, my body shaking and my eyes wide. There was no doubt about it.

This person was my stalker, the one who sent those letters and condoms, the one who followed me home and the one who molested me in the bathroom that one time. I stared in horror as they stepped forward, and the lights flickered on and off again, before lighting up brightly, throwing their face into sharp proportions.

In that moment, I breathed out their name.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

"Mizuki-sensei!" I breathed, staring at the man before me. He stood, looking more than a little annoyed. Beside me, Shikamaru was panting slightly, but whether it was from running or for the same reasons I was feeling my breath shorten, I wasn't sure.

"You guys, why are you running around? Registration started, you should be in line. And where is Uzumaki? Did he even show up?" Mizuki asked, sounding irritated.

I took a step back. "You're here...you haven't seen Naruto..." I said, feeling my stomach begin to clench horribly.

Mizuki raised an eyebrow, obviously confused. "What are you blabbering about Uchiha?" he snapped.

It wasn't him.

It wasn't Mizuki.

Naruto's stalker _wasn't_ Mizuki, like I'd thought. I had thought it was him, explaining why he always seemed to single Naruto out. Explaining why he was always watching the blonde. It would explain why he had seemed so very angry when we started dating, and he obviously caught on like most of the teachers did. It even gave some explanation as to why he suddenly did something that helped Naruto.

But now...he was here.

He hadn't even _seen_ Naruto.

He wasn't the stalker. He couldn't be. Now that I saw him, I could just tell. He wasn't the stalker. He was just another bastard who made Naruto miserable because of that mystery reason, and who'd most likely been ordered to help the blonde.

But if it wasn't him...

"_Shit_...Shikamaru!" I turned, Shikamaru doing the same. He looked as panicked as I felt and the two of us started running again, ignoring Mizuki's angry shouting for us to stop.

"Where is he?.!" I yelled, looking around. Shikamaru was sprinting next to me, his lazy composure vanished in light of his friend's danger.

"Split up! We need to find him _now_! Registration is the perfect time to attack, since everyone is on the field!" Shikamaru roared, already heading off towards the other end of the school. I went to the nearest entrance, my heart beating wildly and my steps thudding loudly in my ears. I crashed through the doors and ran as fast as I could down the hallways, looking into classrooms briefly as I went.

I could hear someone yelling outside, and I guessed it was Mizuki, maybe running after me to give me detention for my behaviour, but I didn't stop. I didn't care. Mizuki could decide to string me up by my kidneys later, and I wouldn't care. I had to find Naruto.

I had to find him.

I had to find him before it was too late.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

My head snapped up. I could've sworn I heard Sasuke calling my name. I was about to call out, but before I could, I felt myself pushed roughly against the wall, and a hand slapped over my mouth. I struggled, trying to get out of the grip, but it was unwavering.

That chuckle sounded again before I felt hot breath against my ear. "Now now, my blonde angel, we don't want any interruptions do we?"

I growled against the hand and bucked, trying to throw him off. I glared through the gloomy light of the bathroom at my attacker, managing to free my mouth briefly.

"Kabuto..." I hissed before the hand was back over my mouth.

Kabuto grinned, his glasses glinting slightly. He shifted, and I hissed at the feeling of his knee touching my groin. He chuckled again and began to move his leg, rubbing against me. I struggled even harder against his hold, trying to pry his hands away. When that failed, I blindly reached out and punched at him. I heard what sounded like glass breaking and twisted my head as much as I could to see that I had broken his glasses. The slight bend I'd caused to the frame had made the one lens tilt forward. There was a bright gleam on it, hiding that eye from view. My fist shook against the other lens, which was shattered. I felt light trickles of blood run down my knuckles, and I knew I'd managed to cut myself lightly on the glass.

"How feisty, Naruto-kun." Kabuto said, smirking. With one eye hidden behind the bright gleam of the light glare, and the other shadowed by darkness and streaked with broken glass and bloodstains, he looked like a demon. Some demonic creature that hell itself couldn't even bare to have him in its depths, the evil was too much.

Slowly, he removed the hand over my mouth, but before I could call out, he moved.

I gasped when I felt his fist collide with my temple. The force sent me stumbling to the side and I knocked into the sinks before leaning heavily against them. My head was spinning and I was disoriented, the bathroom seeming to swim before my eyes. How did he manage to do that with one punch?

"The temple is a very delicate place, angel." Kabuto's voice rung out and I saw a shadow loom over me before I felt his knee collide with my stomach. I coughed out, left completely breathless from that kick as pain throbbed throughout my body. I collapsed onto the floor, clutching my stomach.

Above me, Kabuto was smirking as he pushed his broken glasses back up his nose.

"And getting hit in the Solar Plexus can be so very painful, can it not?" he said, his voice mocking.

I rolled over, grunting slightly before kicking at his legs. He jumped away, and I cursed and began scrambling towards the door. As I reached out to grip the handle, fingers gripped my hair and yanked back harshly. I cried out in pain, before something collided harshly against my throat, cutting off my voice. I coughed and gasped, trying to swallow but finding myself unable to, and some spittle escaped my mouth.

"Trying to fight is a waste of energy. Why do that when we can be doing something so much more pleasurable?" Kabuto snickered, his face looming over mine.

Before I could retort, he swooped down and I felt his lips clamp over mine while his tongue dove into my mouth. He moaned loudly while I gagged at the foreign taste and object, and tried to shove him away, but the hand in my hair pulled again and my already soft cry of pain was lost in his mouth.

I felt I was going to suffocate. His tongue was swirling around my mouth, touching every surface and it made me feel so sick, my stomach lurching unpleasantly. Before I could actually throw up, however, he pulled away, our mixed saliva dribbling down the corners of my mouth as I gasped for air.

"You taste so good." He hissed, licking up my cheek while I coughed.

He pulled me way from the door, slamming me roughly against the wall again, and I heard the old tile crack as my head bounced. Everything was spinning from the blow but before I could even think straight, I was pulled away from the wall and suddenly a fist hit my face again, striking my mouth. My lip split, and I bit the inside of my cheek. Blood quickly filled my mouth, the metallic taste making me feel dizzy.

Suddenly I was standing alone, but that lasted a second before a knee collided back into my stomach, in the same spot as before.

I hacked, blood and spit flying out of my mouth and my eyes widening in pain. I couldn't take a breath and the pain was shooting up and down my spine. An elbow slammed against the back of my neck and I hit the floor with a loud crunch. My nose was most likely broken from hitting the tiles straight on.

My head was pounding and I could barely move. I'd gotten beaten before, but never like this. He knew exactly where to strike.

His foot kicked me over so I was on my back, and through my blurred vision, I saw him leering down at me.

"I was wrong...you do look so much better when you're bleeding. It makes you look all the more alluring." He said lowly, kneeling down.

His hands, cold to the touch, moved over me, caressing my whole body. One gripped my chin and pulled my face up before his lips and teeth clamped onto my neck and sucked. I whimpered when he bit down, drawing blood. He moved all over my neck, licking, sucking and biting harshly, ignoring my cries.

His other hand ran over my chest, undoing the buttons on my shirt before sliding across my skin. I was shaking uncontrollably, the fear from before mounting even higher now that I was practically rendered helpless. His hand grazed over my chest, pinching my nipples before heading lower towards an area I _really_ didn't want him to go near.

"S-stop!" I rasped out before coughing again, blood spurting out from the bite in my cheek. He ignored me, reaching lower and running his hand over my groin before cupping it and squeezing. I tried to shift away from him, but as I moved the hand on my chin moved to my hair and tugged harshly. I whimpered, my eyes watering from both the pain and the unwanted stimulus to my crotch.

My body was betraying me, and I could hear the sneer in his voice as he spoke, his hands continuing their sick ministrations.

"That's a good boy. Soon the real fun will begin though. I notice you didn't bring any of the gifts I sent you. I guess you must not want to use them. That's fine with me." He chuckled, the sound making my blood freeze and my body break out into a cold sweat.

Dear God he was going to rape me...

The horrible realization washed over me that this was _not_ some sick nightmare. This was really happening. And I couldn't see any way out of it. Tears pooled in my eyes and dripped over and I struggled to gasp out the one word that was swimming around in my head.

"Why?"

He paused in his ministrations, and I almost sobbed with relief, but it was short lived because he soon resumed, with more vigour.

"Because I want to be the one to finally break you." He said, and then laughed. "All this time...all those years of enduring the insults and loathing towards you, and yet despite being put through all those struggles, you have never broken. Your will to live and your will to love others never faded. I saw it that day I helped pick up your books. When you fell down, I could see the way you were building yourself back up inside. And when I handed you that book and you looked at me, I saw it. That spark of insecurity and fragile hope. You were beautiful. You still are. And I realized that I could finally destroy you."

My breathing was uneven by now, and I held back a groan. He was moving again, this time working to unbutton my pants. I let out a soft moan of protest, which he ignored. Breathing was become a struggle and I internally cursed my body to hell for reacting to his disgusting touch.

"I decided then that I would have you, no matter what. That innocence inside you was something I wanted. I wanted to be the one to tear it away from you. You were just so gorgeous and innocent, I could barely helpmyself. But those bastards kept getting in the way!" Kabuto suddenly spat, his hands roughly yanking my pants off.

I trembled in fear and cried out when his mouth closed over a nipple again, biting at it harshly. I thrashed weakly, trying to get away, but he pulled back and slapped me across the face hard, more blood dribbling out my mouth. Then he returned his mouth to my torso, sucking and biting everywhere, even the bruised area he had abused before. I gasped when he bit down on my nipple before pulling back with a hiss.

"The first and biggest problem I had to deal with was that _bastard _teacher, Mizuki! He was always, _always_ getting in my way!"

I froze, my eyes snapping open. What did he mean? Mizuki got in his way? How?

As if reading my mind, Kabuto continued.

"He was always calling you to the front, always giving you detention and always making you miserable. Every time I tried to reach for you in class, he would call you forward. Every time I planned to find you after school, he gave you a detention. I couldn't wait for you without causing trouble for myself, so I had to give up. And on the occasions where I had you, you were always depressed from his classes and the spark I wanted was no longer there! It would've been pointless to try anything when what I wanted wasn't even there!" Kabuto scratched his nails down my stomach, leaving angry red marks. I hissed in pain, but my mind was still taking it all in.

Mizuki had, whether intentionally or not, helped me all those times. I almost didn't want to believe it, it seemed so surreal. He'd always hated me, and always been the bad guy.

And yet, at the same time, he hadn't.

He had been helping me in some strange way with all that trouble he caused.

Life was truly full of some cruel ironies.

"And just when that was starting to die away, that damn mutt Inuzuka had to get caught up with you. He was always there by your side, and it became near impossible to find a moment with you alone." He tugged my shoes off to get my pants off the rest of the way. By now, I was barely struggling. All the beatings to my body had left me worn out. "When I caught you alone in the bathroom, I couldn't stop myself. I had to take what little I could get at the time, and had you not hit me, I would've fucked you into the wall." Kabuto snapped, one of his hands briefly disappearing. I figured he was most likely touching himself if his sudden gasp and heavy breathing was any indication. But before long he stopped and spoke again, his voice venomous.

"But the worst was _Uchiha_! That little prick had the nerve to come into the picture and become your friend! And that day you came seeking me out, it was a miracle for me. I had you alone. And that spark was there again, just like I wanted. You were also rambling on. You were disoriented and your guard was falling. It was the perfect opportunity, and had Uchiha not come around that corner, I would've had you back then!" Kabuto threw my pants to the side, grabbing my hips and pulling me closer to him while he settled between my legs. I protested, starting to struggled again, but he only reached over and hit me again, the sound of flesh colliding against flesh ringing out in the bathroom.

I gasped in pain, and cried at the feeling of Kabuto reaching for my boxers. His voice was almost crazed as he whispered again.

"But this time, there's nothing that's going to stop me from taking you. I'm going to destroy all your innocence and take everything away. I'm going to break you beyond repair. You're innocence is mine now, angel."

My eyes closed, tears dripping down. He was right.

There was no help coming this time. There hardly ever was. I was alone, and I was going to be raped, most likely beaten some more and maybe even killed. It was all over, either way. Kabuto had succeeded.

I felt...broken.

There was no one out there to save me. No one even cared enough.

I was always hated by everyone. They always hated me for reasons I didn't know.

"..Why..does everyone hate me..." I hissed out, not intending to, really.

Kabuto laughed out loud, the sound cruel and biting. "You _still_ don't know the story? You're really pathetic. You don't even know about your own past. You don't even know about what happened with your parents. You are truly a worthless child." He said, his voice sharp and cold.

Worthless...

I'd heard that before.

Was it really true?

Was I really just a worthless piece of wasted matter?

I knew I was crying, but I didn't care. It was all over for me now. I couldn't see any way out of this. Kabuto was closing in on me, I could feel his clothed arousal pressing against my inner thigh, rocking against me slightly while he panted and his hand fumbled to grab the waistline of my underwear.

The door was hit ferociously, causing Kabuto's head to snap up in surprise, one hand ready to pull my boxers off and the other reaching to pull his own down. Another loud bang sounded, and then a ferocious crack before the old hinges of the door gave away, and the whole thing crashed to the floor loudly.

I couldn't see who was there through the dust in the air and the tears in my eyes. All I heard was an animalistic roar of pure rage, one that sent shivers of fear down my spine, before the figure moved, and everything was chaos.

Kabuto was knocked away, and I heard him yelling, and I could hear the sounds of a brutal fight going on around me, vicious slaps, grunts and heavy gasps filling the once silent room. Suddenly, through the pain and the haze, I felt arms pulling me up into and embrace, and a sobbing voice spoke into my ear.

"Naruto! Oh God, Naruto are you okay?.! Please say something! Naruto?.!" Sakura's voice was bordering hysterical, and I could tell she was pulling me to the side, away from the fight that was still going on. Her hands pulled me closer, protecting me. I was shivering violently, and she was too, her tears splashing on my cheeks as she rocked me slightly.

I was afraid, even though I was in her familiar embrace. The sounds of the fight caused horrid images to emerge in my mind, bloody scenes of battles reeling across my mind's eye like a horror film. Sakura suddenly pulled me closer, her hair brushing my bleeding face as she whispered to me with a frightened, shaking voice.

"It'll be okay, Naruto. It's going to be fine." She whispered.

Someone was yelling, the voice seemingly familiar, and then there were footsteps before another voice was yelling too. It was familiar as well. There was just so much noise and everything was becoming nothing but a dark blur to me. Everything was fading. I was so worn out. My body was in pain, and my heart itself felt as if someone had taken it out and beat it into the ground before shoving it back into my chest.

It was all too much.

I just wanted to sleep.

I wanted to sink into that empty blackness, and hopefully find some semblance of peace within those depths of my consciousness. I didn't want to see or hear or feel anything.

Before I lost consciousness, I heard the sound of Sasuke's voice calling my name.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I screeched to a stop, pricking my ears. In the distance, I heard a sharp cry.

_Naruto!_

Without hesitation, I ran full speed towards the bathrooms nearby. They were the only ones in this area, and the only place I could think of left to search.

As I drew closer, I could hear someone talking, and my chest constricted with a fierce anger I'd never felt before, the intensity of it making the corners of my vision blur, as I realized who it was that was speaking.

Yakushi Kabuto.

Anger flared in my whole being, and all I could think of was the damage I would do to that bastard after I caught him. If he had hurt Naruto, I was going to kill him with my bare hands, consequences be damned to hell and back.

My heart was beating loudly in my ears, and aside from the loud slapping of my shoes on the tiled hallway, there was no other sound in the building now. The hallway seemed endless, and I sped up, feeling the anger inside me burn higher, licking up my insides brutally until it was almost painful.

When I reached the door I slammed against it, only to stumble back and hit the opposite wall. It was locked. A feral growl tore through my throat and I ran at the door, hitting it with all my strength. I saw it cave slightly under the blow and knew one solid kick would finish it.

Stepping back, I gathered as much strength as I could and swung my leg up and around, striking the door in the dead centre. A loud, resounding crack and splintering sound pierced through the air. The hinges ripped away and the door crashed to the ground, sending up dust around it in a great cloud, much like one would see in a movie, but this was reality and it was terrifying. Through the slight haze of dust and sunlight, I saw a sight that made me near blind with rage.

Naruto was on the floor, his pants gone and his shirt open, bleeding, bruised and looking defeated and broken. His eyes were barely open and trying to focus on me, tears running down his cheeks and pooling with the blood. His chest was heaving, bite marks littering it along with bruises. Sitting between his legs was Kabuto, one of the lenses in his glasses shattered, the other tipped forward slightly. He had one hand shoved in his own pants, and the other starting to pull Naruto's boxers away.

I practically _heard _the wires of logic and sanity rip apart in my mind, and all I could think was '_kill'_.

With a roar, I lunged forwards, slamming into Kabuto with the force of a raging bull. We slid across the floor but I quickly sat up and punched him in the face over and over, using both hands to strike at a time. Kabuto bucked up, and I toppled forwards, rolling slightly before spinning around. His foot came into contact with my chin, and my head snapped to the side. I spat out, and swung back to him, bringing my fist around and catching his shoulder. He stumbled back, but regained his pose and kicked up. I side stepped it, grabbing his leg and pulling him forwards. As soon as his head was near, I grabbed a handful of his hair and pushed with all my might. His head went straight into the mirror nearby, and it shattered around him. He gasped out, his arm swinging back and striking me in the eye. I jolted back and he jumped away, turning swiftly and kicking his leg up, aiming for my jaw.

I caught his ankle and spun around, bringing the hand holding his ankle over my head before yanking it over my shoulder. Kabuto lost his foot, falling to the floor. His head hit the tile with a resounding thud and he grunted in pain. I used his pain to my advantage, and quickly spun around again, pulling his leg backwards.

Just when I was sure I'd hear a 'pop' as his leg disjointed someone else came into the room. I looked over and saw Sakura sobbing, pulling Naruto to the side and trying to check him over. Kabuto used my momentary lapse in concentration and reached up, grabbing my hair and yanking. My head snapped back and he reached up and hit my throat with his other hand. I coughed and gagged, rolling off of him and clutching at my throat. He got to his feet and swung his leg. It caught my side and I went straight to the wall, smashing against it with a loud grunt. Kabuto was using this time to try and clear his head and shake off his pain, one side of his face scratched and bleeding from the mirror. I looked around, wanting to find something that would hurt him even more than my fists could. My eyes landed on a metal pipe overhead. It looked rusty and old and easy to break off.

It was _perfect_.

I reached up quickly, grabbing it and pulling harshly. It broke away with a loud clanking sound, and pieces of the tile wall broke away with it, falling to the floor.

I saw Kabuto and Sakura look up at me, the latter's eyes widening before she hugged Naruto closer, leaning down to whisper reassurances in his ears and keep him from seeing anything. Kabuto hissed out a curse, before he tried to run for the door.

Like hell I'd let him escape now.

I growled and ran forwards, raising the pipe. I swung, and he dodged, the pipe hitting the floor and cracking the tile. One solid hit from it and he'd be down. So I swung again and again. He kept dodging until his back hit the wall. I swung the pipe down, and he dived to the side with a cry. The tile on the wall shattered as the pipe hit it, and I imagined that it had been Kabuto's face. The thought sent determined and sickly excited shivers through my body. I wanted him dead and bleeding at my feet.

Taking deep breaths, blood dripping down my chin from the last punch he'd gotten, I slowly turned, seeing him a few feet away. With a glare that would make the devil shit his pants, I took a step towards him and then another before I was speeding towards him, all sanity lost. Kabuto backed away, but found himself in a corner. His eyes widened as he realized there was no where left for him to go and a loud curse slipped from his lips. I growled when I reached him, and raised the pipe. The final blow was here. I was going break his skull in and there was nowhere left for him to run. My heart was pounding, and the raging beast inside of me was screaming for me to _hurry up_ and _kill _the motherfucker.

As I was about to end the bastard's life, someone ran in and yelled out, grabbing my arm and halting my finishing blow.

"Uchiha! Calm down!" It was Mizuki. I struggled, hissing and spitting, my eyes trained on Kabuto. All I could see was his head on a platter.

"Let me go! I'll kill him! I'll _kill _him!" I roared. "He hurt Naruto! He _hurt_ _my_ _Naruto_!"

Another pair of hands grabbed me, and then another. I looked from side to side, my teeth grit and my eyes undoubtedly wild in anger, and realized that both Kiba and Shikamaru were helping Mizuki restrain me.

"Sasuke, calm down! It's _over_!" Shikamaru yelled, his arm wrapping around my neck to hold me back. I shook my head frantically, once again trying to break free from the strong hold they had on me.

"It's not over until that piece of _shit_ is dead!" I struggled harder, thrashing around and looking to Kabuto. He was on his knees in the corner, staring up at me in horror. I growled ferally. How dare he!.? How dare he even have the _gall_ to give me that look!.?

Kiba suddenly let go. He turned to Kabuto and swung his fist with so much force Kabuto not only skidded across the floor, but he stayed still, blood dripping out the corner of his mouth. He was out cold.

Kiba then turned to me, panting and his fist bleeding. His eyes were wet with unshed tears and burning with barely suppressed rage.

"_Now_ it's fucking over. Naruto needs us more than that fucker." He grit out. He was holding back, but not without difficulty. His hands twitched, and I knew they were itching to wrap around Kabuto's throat and rip the life from him. I breathed heavily, my chest heaving, but I stopped struggling at last. Mizuki grabbed the pipe from my hand and tossed it away. He took a deep breath before turning to Shikamaru.

"Nara, go and get the headmaster and the Uchiha family. Tell them what happened." He instructed, his voice firm and final. Shikamaru nodded, unwinding his arm from around me. He gave a pat on my shoulder before turning and sprinting away, all laziness gone.

I took heaving breaths, staring at Kiba. He stared right back, a shared understanding between us over what had just happened. Then, I heard Sakura's sobs in the background, and I spun around, my eyes landing on her and Naruto huddled in the corner. Sakura was shivering, but she kept Naruto close, her cheek rested against the top of his head while she ran a hand through his hair. Her eyes were narrow and shimmering with more and more tears. I focused on Naruto, feeling my breath catch in my throat.

His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving aside from the very slow rise and fall of his chest.

"N-Naruto..." I breathed, and stumbled towards him. Mizuki made no move to stop me, only moving to where Kabuto was, checking that he was alive and then making sure he was really unconscious. Kiba followed me and we both dropped down beside Sakura, who looked at us with broken eyes.

I reached out, a soft whimper escaping my throat. Sakura hesitated for a second before she carefully pushed Naruto into my arms.

He was cold.

I held him close, staring down at his face. There were several large, dark bruises on his cheeks, and blood was gathered around his mouth, especially at the corners. New droplets would spill out every now and then. His nose was also bleeding, and it looked broken. I was shaking now, holding him in my arms. Kiba and Sakura sat close by, Sakura hugging the brunette and sobbing into his shoulder. Kiba had one arm around her for comfort, but his gaze was locked onto Naruto, his dark eyes shining with angry tears.

I reached up and shakily brushed a strand of hair away from Naruto's face before wiping away the line of blood at the corner of his mouth. He didn't move or make a sound, and my heart felt like it was being stabbed with a million needles.

"N-Naru..." my voice cracked and died, and it was then I noticed the droplets of water splashing onto the bruised and whiskered cheeks.

I was crying.

I leant forwards even as hurried footsteps sounded in the hall, and buried my face into the crook of Naruto's cold neck. I held back any noise, but my body shook with sobs. Someone gasped behind me, but I didn't turn to look who it was. Despair was welling up inside of me, and all that ran through my mind was the same thought.

I had _failed_.

That was all I could admit. I had failed to protect Naruto. I had failed to keep him safe. He had been hurt so badly, and I wasn't there for him when he needed me the most. He had needed me, and I hadn't been there to save him.

I choked on a sob and wrapped my arms around him, rocking slightly and pressing my lips against his temple.

"Naruto...I'm so s-sorry!" I whispered.

There was murmuring nearby, and soon I felt someone placing their hands on my shoulders. They were large and warm and firm. They were familiar.

"Sasuke, we need to take him to a hospital." My father's voice was soft, but stern. I was trembling under his hands, and I struggled to pull myself together. It was so hard. I looked up at my father, my face showing all the feelings I felt.

Pain, sorrow, regret, failure, anger, fear...everything.

My father looked down at me, his eyes softening. "Come on, son. You are an Uchiha. You can do this." He muttered.

I swallowed thickly, and slowly nodded. I could see my mother and Itachi standing behind him, each one looking composed, but each with different emotions burning in their eyes.

My mother was holding back tears. She wanted to cry, and undoubtedly hold Naruto in her arms, much like I was doing. She wanted to take care of him. But she was being strong, and keeping those despairing emotions at bay. She knew what needed to be done.

Itachi was standing there, as cool as ever. But I could see the anger burning in his eyes, the sorrow as he took in our appearance.

Father squeezed my shoulders again. "Be strong, Sasuke. Be strong for Naruto."

I gritted my teeth, pulling Naruto closer. Kiba suddenly reached over, holding Naruto's pants in his hand. With Sakura's help, the two of them slowly pulled them back onto the unconscious blonde. We shared a look, nodding to each other. We all understood what needed to be done now. Slowly, carefully, I started to stand, my father helping me. I held Naruto in my arms, his head resting against my neck and shoulder. I could feel his slow breaths fanning against my skin, and they sent small comfort through me.

He was alive.

He was alive, and he would pull through this. And I would be there to help him every step of the way. He would have me, and Kiba and Sakura and Shikamaru and my entire family to support him.

He wasn't going to be alone again.

I vowed that he would never be left alone ever again.

"Naruto." I murmured his name, holding him tighter, not wanting to let him go for fear that I would never feel him again.

"Mizuki, I have already contacted the police. I want you to deal with them, and tell them the story. We'll keep an eye on Yakushi in case he wakes up." Sarutobi-sensei said, before he turned to look at the rest of us. "You are all excused. This has been a traumatic ordeal for all of you. I am so sorry that this happened." He said sincerely.

My father nodded at him. I kept my gaze focused on Naruto. Kiba and Sakura were beside me, and Shikamaru stood just outside the door, waiting.

"Come, Sasuke. Let's go." My mother said softly. "We're going to take him to the hospital straight away."

I nodded and started to walk, easing through the door carefully. Kiba, Sakura and Shikamaru all walked beside me while my family walked behind. When we neared the door, Itachi sped up, walking ahead and pushing the doors open.

The bright sunshine burned my eyes after being in the dim bathroom for so long. The people nearest the door all turned to look, falling deathly silent when they saw us. This soon spread throughout the field, and everyone was watching us. Itachi walked ahead, a glare so intense the ground was liable to ignite should he look at it fixed in place.

Kiba walked just a bit ahead of me, his fists clenched at his sides. Sakura was next to me, her hand brushing through Naruto's hair while a few tears rolled down her cheeks. Shikamaru walked behind us, his hands in his pockets and his eyes turned down to the ground. My mother and father followed behind, their hands linked and their faces set.

Someone began whispering, and soon there was a collective hiss of murmurs. Everyone was pointing and staring, and I felt the rage build up inside when I heard someone mutter 'The monster deserves it, I'll bet'.

Before I could spin around and tear their throat out, someone stepped forwards.

"If I hear anyone say anything about this, I will personally drag them from these premises and make sure they never set foot near this school again. So all of you had better shut your Goddamn traps!" Kakashi ordered, his voice dripping with venom as he glared down at the crowd. People fell silent immediately, shocked that the usually calm and lazy teacher was showing such a strong and foul emotion towards them.

Sending one last warning glare, Kakashi walked ahead, leading us towards the closed school gates.

Kakashi walked over to a small control panel and quickly typed in a code. The gates began to rumble open, and Kakashi turned to look at us. His only visible eye narrowed slightly upon seeing Naruto in my arms, and I could see the sadness swimming there.

He walked up to me, and sighed. "I'm so sorry, you two. This never should have happened. He'll pull through though." He assured. "Naruto's a fighter."

I sniffed and licked my lips before letting out a soft and shaky "Yeah."

Kakashi placed a hand on my shoulder, bending down slightly to look at me.

"Don't cry, Sasuke. He'll pull through, and so will you. You need him as much as he needs you, so stay together." His hand came up, and he clumsily and jokingly ran his hand over my face, smearing my tears all over my cheeks. "And didn't you once tell me that Uchiha's never cry?" he whispered, his voice teasing. I scoffed through my tears as I walked past him, carrying my blonde carefully.

I knew I must have looked terrible, but things like appearances were so unimportant. I didn't give a flying fuck-rat what people thought. I didn't care about my image, or anything. They could whisper and rumour and gossip all they wanted and I wouldn't bat an eyelid. All that mattered to me was Naruto.

All that mattered was taking care of my Naruto.

I wouldn't fail him again.

* * *

***sits back with hands folded on lap* And there you have it...The Stalker made his move, Kabuto was revealed, and Sasuke almost killed him. What's going to happen to Naruto now? Will he be able to get over this, like everyone's saying? And what of his past? What happened to his parents? More will be revealed in the next chapter. As for when that will be updated, I can't say. I'm working on it now, but I want to make sure it's all explained clearly, so I'll most likely hold it longer to go over it several times.**

**Everyone, I hope this chapter was...well...not really enjoyable since Naruto got hurt and such, but I hope it was tense, exciting, and maybe emotional? Please review and let me know how I did. Thank you.**

**Kao: ...Well...that was a _painfully _formal ending note...**

**Kam: It's because the chapter was so serious...beatings and attempted rape, as well as attempted murder are serious topics. **

**Kao: But when I killed someone, there was no formal attitude or ending note! I FEEL CHEATED! WHERE'S MY MORBID AND DARK AURA?.! WHERE'S MY GLOOMY SPEECH?.!**

**Kam: *sigh* Idiot...  
**


	24. Chapter 24

**URYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! *war cry***

**Hehe, hi everyone! ^^ Hope your all well! Sorry this took a little bit longer to update than I expected, but it's a long and important chapter! SO MUCH GETS EXPLAINED HERE! **

**I was nervous to post this...BUT! Since I have, like, the most amazing, incredible, adorable, fantabulisticle(hell yeah she deserves a new word!) Plot-Puppy, who read over, beta-ed and overall reviewed this chapter before I posted it...IT IS NOW READY FOR THE WORLD! QwQ My little baby is going growing up and going out into the fandom world... *sniffles***

**So everyone, please give lots and lots of love and hugs and Pocky to my dearest SilverXStarlight for helping me out and being so damn COOL! XD This chapter is dedicated to her for her awesome help and cuteness! **

**OH YEAH! Quick note: With the last chapter, the whole fight scene and such...The inspiration for that fight scene came from a friend of mine who I was chatting to. I told him I needed to write out a fight scene, and he started suggesting the different things they could do to each other...Note: The broken mirror, the attacks to the solar plexis and the rusty pipe weapon are all from his suggestions, so he really helped out with that part. So a thanks to him!**

**Okay then, warnings, disclamaimer and then you can READ THIS BITCH!**

**Warnings: ...uuuh...Gee, was there any swearing or such in this chapter? *looks to plot-puppy***

**SXS: *noms on Pocky* Uh, maybe a little bit with Kiba? Oh, and Naru too...**

**Juura: Oooh yes... okay, uh and then...that's it eh? Very slight swearing. I mean like...a total of 3 or 4 swear words. **

**Disclaimer: Juura: DO I OWN IT? DO I REALLY OWN IT? *excited***

**Kao: Sadly...**

**Kam: No.**

**SXS: Sorry...**

**Juura: *cries***

**Online!**

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**~Sasuke POV~**

The car ride to the hospital had to be one of the longest moments of my life. It seemed the damn roads never came to an end. Buildings and people continued to flash by in a blur of colour and motion, unlike my own world, which had turned grey and screeched to a biting halt after what had just happened.

I was seated in the back of the car, Naruto cradled on my lap, his head resting against my neck. His slow, sometimes unsteady breathing fanned against my skin, each time reminding me that he was alive, but in great pain as well. I had one arm wrapped around his shoulders, holding him securely and the other hand was gently tracing his cheek and occasionally running through his hair.

Itachi was sitting beside me, leaning against the window. He was staring out at the passing buildings blankly, one hand resting against the window and his chin, and the other clenched tightly at his side. He hadn't said a word to anyone, but it was easy for us to see that he was extremely angry.

Whether it was at Kabuto, or myself, I wasn't sure. And I was even less sure if I wanted to know.

Behind us, Sakura's parents were following, bringing both her and Kiba's family, since both wanted to come. Shikamaru had said he would meet up with us later. He had wanted to stay behind to talk to the police and tell them about the previous letters Kabuto had sent to Naruto. He would visit the hospital once that was done.

Halfway through the endless ride, my mother turned in her seat and handed me some tissues.

"Wipe your face dear." She said softly.

I took them, nodding in thanks and began wiping at my face slowly. When I pulled it away and glanced at it, I was shocked at the amount of blood as well as tears that had been absorbed. I quickly grabbed another, wiping more and more and seeing less and less blood each time.

It was after a moment that I realized that...not all of the blood was mine.

The realization that I'd managed to get Kabuto's blood on me was both disgusting and sickeningly satisfying. It felt good knowing his blood had been spilled. But I quickly shook my head, trying to dispel those wicked and primal thoughts.

Naruto shifted slightly and groaned, and every head but for my father, who was driving, turned to look at him. I held him close and gently, hoping he would wake up.

"Naru?" I asked softly. He groaned again, shifted and whimpered when his battered stomach bent painfully. After a moment, he stilled again, his breathing evening out once more. He was still out.

I sighed, as did my mother as she turned back to the front. Itachi stared at Naruto for another moment before he too turned away, resuming his glaring out the window. I bit my lip and resumed wiping away the dust, blood, and sweat that covered me. No doubt I had probably scared quite a few people at the school with my appearance. It may have looked like I killed someone, and in all honesty, had Mizuki not intervened when he did, Kabuto would be dead.

"...What's going to happen now?" I whispered. Everyone shifted before my father cleared his throat.

"We're going to press charges, that's what. I'll contact our lawyer, and he'll represent Naruto. That brat will not get away with this." He answered darkly.

Itachi sighed. "...But will the final ruling be fair?" he asked quietly.

Father stiffened and mother bit her lip, looking away. I blinked, noticing the sudden shift in the air.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We'll find a judge that's fair. One that's not from around here and doesn't know the history of the town and who's smart enough not to believe in rumours." Father said. Itachi groaned and turned to look at him.

"Father, do you really think it'll be that easy? What are the odds we find a judge that doesn't know the story or that isn't prejudiced?" he questioned, his voice clearly showing how absurd the idea seemed.

"Do not forget who we are, Itachi. If anyone can find that, it's us." Father said, briefly glaring at Itachi in the rear view mirror. That alone made me jolt. Father never glared at us like that, especially not Itachi.

"Dear, perhaps we can get in touch with Judge Shion? She is fair, and we've had past experience with her so we know she's a reliable and fair judge." Mother suggested gently. Father grunted.

"That's a good idea."

Itachi leant forward in his seat. "Does she know the story?" he asked firmly.

I was looking between everyone in my family, feeling confused and a little bit angry.

"What are you all talking about? _What_ story? Why do we need to go through the trouble of finding a judge from another area? What is going on?" I demanded feeling irritated at being the only one who seemed to not know what my whole family was fussing about.

We stopped at a red light, and all heads turned to me. Father looked tired, mother looked sad, and Itachi looked determined.

"Sasuke...what do you know about Naruto's past?" Father asked slowly. I blinked, my arm tightening around the blonde unconsciously.

"Well...I know he never knew his parents, but he has a few people who are like guardians to him. But he's been an orphan since he can remember." I said, feeling a bit put out at the fact I didn't know all that much.

Father eyed us both for a moment before sighing. "We're going to have a lot to talk about in the hospital." He muttered.

I stared at him and opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but before I could my mother interrupted.

"We're here. Come on Sasuke, let's hurry." She said as the car stopped in a parking space. Itachi quickly climbed out and rushed around to open my door. He then reached in to help me exit the car and carry Naruto, but I refused to let the blonde go just yet. Itachi nodded and let me cling to him for a bit longer. He would be taken away once we were inside anyway.

Father strode ahead, mother walking swiftly behind him. I followed and Itachi brought up the rear. Sakura's parents were driving around, searching for a parking. They would catch up to us soon enough.

We walked through the double doors, Father already ahead and talking to a nurse. She nodded and upon seeing Naruto, summoned others to help. They brought out a stretcher, and slowly, Itachi and I lay Naruto down on it. Before the nurses could wheel him away, I leant down and placed a kiss on his forehead, my eyes squeezing shut to keep back any emotional leakage. **(1)**

And then I was pulled away as the nurses wheeled Naruto off, several checking him over and giving information and orders to each other as they went. Soon, they disappeared around the corner, and I took a step forward, reaching out as if to follow them. However, arms wrapped around me from behind and I was pulled back into a hard chest while whoever it was placed their chin on my head, murmuring into my hair.

"It's okay, Sasuke. He's going to be okay." Itachi said softly.

I let my hand fall and looked at the ground, biting my lip. Itachi didn't back away, only holding me tighter, and I was thankful. As much as I fought with Itachi, and as much as I hated him when he was being a prat, he was still my older brother, who I had admired and looked up to when I was younger. The warmth of his arms offered a little reassurance, reminding me that not only was he there, but that I wasn't totally alone in my pain. There were others who felt the anger and sadness too.

I knew that I was selfish for thinking I'd been alone.

How could I have thought that after all? Of course Sakura and Kiba were going to be just as devastated as me, if not more. Naruto had been their friend long before I had. Especially Sakura. She was like Naruto's sister.

I turned my head, looking over both mine and Itachi's shoulders towards the entrance. Sure enough, Sakura and Kiba came bursting through, looking around frantically before they spotted me and rushed over. Itachi didn't move.

"Sasuke-kun...What happened? Why? Why did...Why?" Sakura gasped out, her face still wet with tears. "I'm so confused! Why did Kabuto-san do that?"

Kiba clenched his fists. "It was him, wasn't it? Kabuto was the one sending those fucking letters to Naruto and following him wasn't he?" he growled out. I nodded slowly while Sakura gasped.

"That's what Shikamaru guessed." I mumbled, my voice hollow.

Sakura placed a hand over her mouth, the other clenching over her heart. "...So he _was_ being followed? W-why didn't he say anything?" she mumbled, mostly to herself.

I sighed, leaning back against my brother. "...We know the answer to that already." I whispered.

Both Kiba and Sakura looked at the ground, understanding what I was saying.

Naruto hated causing other's to worry. It's why he so often refused help and why he put up a front when something was going on. He was such an idiot that way.

"Sasuke, Haruno-san, Inuzuka-kun." My father suddenly called, making the three of us looked up. He looked at us sternly.

"Yes, father?" I replied.

He studied us before motioning us to follow him. "Come with me. I think it's time you knew about Naruto's past, and the reason he is so hated." He announced with a solemn voice.

* * *

Hospital seats left a lot to be desired.

Seriously, they were so stiff and hard and..._Plastic-y_.

How was anyone, especially an injured person, expected to sit in one of those things for extended waiting times?

Personally, I think I'd rather stand and bleed than try to get comfortable on one of those things.

However, I wasn't given much of an option.

Father led me and the other two over to a corner, and instructed us to sit. His voice was set in a tone that said 'you-give-me-shit-I-give-you-another-asshole'. I sat down on one of the Barbie-chairs-because _damn_, those things were so _plastic_- and Sakura sat on my right, while Kiba settled on my left.

And I use the word 'settled' very lightly.

Kiba couldn't stay still. His hands were constantly squeezing together before he would run a hand through his hair or drum absently on his thighs. Undoubtedly he was itching to follow after Naruto and keep a watchful eye over him, much like the good guard dog he was.

Sakura had managed to assemble at least a bit of composure, and sat with her knees pressed together and her hands clasped in her lap. Occasionally she would sniffle and reach up to quickly wipe away a tear or stifle a sob.

Father sat down across from us, crossing his arms and surveying us carefully. After a full five minutes of silence, I cleared my throat.

"So...what about Naruto's past?" I mumbled, my voice a bit hoarse. All the yelling and sobbing had done some damage, and now my voice was well used. I didn't lose my composure to the extent I had today very often, if ever.

And honestly, I never wanted to ever again.

Father blinked slowly before sighing and running a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture that I'd never seen him perform. He leant forward, resting his arms on his knees and clasping his hands together.

"I suppose, it's wise to start from the very beginning." He said, to which we nodded, leaning closer in our seats as well to make sure we caught every word. Father pursed his lips for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking.

"When I was your age, exactly, I met my best friend. He was a smart, humorous, kind and very loyal person, but he was also a bit of a troublemaker, often getting called up to the school office after a bit of a prank he pulled. We were total opposites, since I was withdrawn and cold. But even so, he forced himself into my life and we became best friends." Father's face had gained a faraway look, and I knew he was most likely lost in memories about this friend. I felt curiosity bubbling in my stomach, since this was the first time my father mentioned his best friend. Hell, I didn't even know my father was _capable_ of making friends, truthfully.

"His name was Namikaze Minato." Father continued. At this Sakura's eyes widened.

"N-Namikaze Minato?.!" She stammered. Father nodded, looking directly into her eyes.

"I take it you already know the story then?" he asked. Sakura shifted, fumbling with the hem of her skirt.

"My parents have...mentioned it. But I never really paid any attention, and they didn't go into detail. They just gave the overview of it." She mumbled. I looked over at her, confused. What were they talking about? What story?

"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked, voicing my thoughts.

Father raised a hand. "I'll get to that. Now then, I knew Minato for years, and when we were twenty, he met his wife. Sasuke, your mother and her were very good friends, much like Minato and I were. We all used to go out together often, and planned to live close to each other even. It was a very cliché kind of story, but it was the way we were. Minato loved that woman completely, and she loved him too. They were perfect for each other. She was quite the loud woman, and often forgot to think before acting, but everyone loved her and she was kind and friendly to a fault."

I stared at him, wondering why this was important. He obviously saw the question in my gaze because he sighed again and tensed. He was bracing himself.

"Her name...was Uzumaki Kushina."

Nobody. Moved.

The world seemed to slow down and I could have sworn my blood froze in its tracks, the little molecules screaming 'SAY WHAT?.!' The soft murmuring in the hospital seemed so far away, and the bright sunlight the streamed through the front doors and washed over my face didn't even register. I stared at my father, my lips parted and my jaw in danger of falling open at this rate. I hardly dared to breathe.

Beside me, Sakura looked completely stunned, her mouth gaping and her eyes wide. Her hands were frozen in the act of clutching the fabric of her skirt. Kiba's reaction was similar. His hand was stuck in his hair, him having stopped halfway through brushing it and his eyes were getting wider and wider as the words sunk in slowly.

For what seemed like forever and a day or two, we all continued to stare at my father in shock before one of us found our voice.

"...Excuse me?" Kiba gasped, leaning back in his seat as if the force of the realization just pushed him back. "Uzumaki? As in...Naruto's mom? You knew his mom?" he questioned, his voice getting higher. But before my father could answer his questions I finally regained the ability to speak, the inital shock having worn off and anger replacing it.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew Naruto's parents? Why didn't you tell Naruto!.?" I demanded, clenching my fist tightly. All this time...all this time he had known about Naruto's parents, and he hadn't said a word to me.

He hadn't said a word to Naruto.

Father sighed again. "I was waiting for a better time. This topic is sensitive for all of us, so I didn't want to bring it up so soon after-"

"But he _deserves_ to know! He's always wondered about his own family and yet you're refusing to tell him anything because of your own stupid _insecurities_ and-" I was cut off in my angry rant when my father slammed his fist down onto the chair next to him, the resulting slam and the cracking of the chair making my mouth snap shut and my eyes widen.

"You will not speak that way to me, do you understand?.!" Father nearly growled out, his gaze hard and stern as he glared at me. I shrank back in my seat.

There was little in the world that could scare me, but both of my parents were part of the group of things that could, especially my father when he was angry. I hunched my shoulders, trying to become as little as possible as he continued to glare.

"F-forgive me, father. I'm sorry." I mumbled, looking at the ground by his feet.

There was a very tense silence before I heard my father move. Braving a glance, I looked up only to feel his hand fall atop my head. I froze under the touch, dreading a hit or more shouting, but all he did was ruffle my hair before sitting down, leaving me stunned and looking like I just walked out of a windy storm.

"It's okay, Sasuke. I understand that right now, you're very high strung. But please, trust me and just listen. There's still a bit to tell." He said, and I noticed for the first time just how tired he sounded.

I quickly looked over his face, noticing the way his eyes seemed sunken and the corners of his mouth were tight. He was stressed out right now, and I felt a small pang of guilt at having made it worse with my rudeness and angry outburst. I nodded to him, sitting still in my seat and waiting obediently for him to continue. Beside me, Sakura and Kiba were tense, no doubt feeling a little uncomfortable after the father-son issue moment.

"Yes, I knew Naruto's mother and father, as did Mikoto. Itachi also knew them, but he was only ten, so of course it wasn't on a very personal level. However, Minato and Kushina would often come around on his birthday. It was a very happy time. They were also there when you were born, Sasuke." Father looked at me directly, and there was a tiny smile on his face. "Kushina was pregnant at the time, just about to start her third trimester. Mikoto and her would often go on and on about how you and her son would be the best of friends."

I swallowed thickly, staring down at my hands. Even before I was born, I had been a part of Naruto's world. We would've been playmates, best friends from a young age, and perhaps what we were now even sooner. It was unbelievable. Especially when I thought back to before everything began. Back when I still saw him as nothing but the annoying classmate who I clashed with from time to time.

The world...had a rather sick and random sense of humour.

But that brought up the question of 'Why didn't it turn out that way?'

"Father, if that was the case then...why didn't it happen? What happened to Minato and Kushina?" I asked slowly, feeling the warning bells sound in my mind that I would probably not like the answer.

Sure enough, my father's expression grew pained and he leant back.

"...It was all such a big mistake." He mumbled before looking up and speaking clearly. "Two months before Naruto was born, Minato received a job that would take him out of town for a while. Minato was actually a motivational speaker." Here, father smirked briefly, and I couldn't help but mirror it.

A motivational speaker. It sounded like something Naruto might randomly suggest to become. It didn't take much imagination for me to see him standing in front of a crowd and spewing out all the reasons why life could be wonderful.

And I was one hundred percent certain most of those reasons would have some kind of connection to ramen.

"He left Konoha and Kushina went with him. They travelled around quite a bit, always using trains and buses, because Kushina loved riding them for some reason. None of us ever really understood her, but we didn't mind."

Mother had made her way over, along with Itachi, and both of them were settling down besides father. I saw the way mother placed her hand on father's arm as he spoke, and there was a definite sadness in her face as she listened to him, her eyes gaining a faraway look in them as well. Itachi crossed his legs and his arms and sat back, staring straight ahead blankly. He looked like his usual emotionally retarded self, but I could see the tightness on his features.

"Three years after that, they called to say they were coming back to Konoha. I was ecstatic to see my best friend again, and we were also very anxious to meet their child. They were taking a train home, and then they were going to catch a bus to the nearest bus stop, where we had planned to pick them up. It was late at night when I got a phone call from Minato." Mother gripped father's hand tightly now, her eyes trained on their interlaced fingers. Itachi shifted ever so slightly in his seat.

I felt my heart beat speed up a little bit. Whatever was coming next was bound to be the climax of this tale. The reasons for everything would be revealed.

Both Sakura and Kiba were tense beside me, leaning forward in their seats and waiting to hear the rest.

"...Minato called me and when he spoke he sounded extremely nervous. He told me that he was worried about Kushina. She had been acting strange lately, and he confessed that more than once she had disappeared with Naruto. When he found her again, usually at home after searching the entire area, she had claimed she couldn't remember ever leaving or else gave some other excuse. Minato was scared that perhaps she was suffering from some kind of illness she may have picked up from their travels. I told him that as soon as they got back, I would find the best doctor in Konoha to come and have a good look at her and make sure everything was alright. He'd relaxed somewhat after that and we'd said our goodbyes, like usual." Father took a deep breath. "...That was the last time I ever got to speak to my best friend."

Sakura covered her mouth, and Kiba swallowed noisily. I stared straight at my father, holding my breath. It wasn't the end of the story just yet. There was one final stretch to go.

And I knew it was going to be the hardest.

"As it turned out...Kushina had become addicted to heroin and a whole mess of other drugs during their travels. Where or when this had happened is beyond anyone, and it was a devastating shock to hear of it."

Mother closed her eyes, her hands trembling slightly. Sakura's eyes were shining with understanding and sorrow. She obviously knew the rest and could piece together the rest of the story. Kiba was on the edge of his seat, his eyes wide as he waited impatiently.

I stayed perfectly still.

"During the last few hours of the train ride home, Kushina started panicking. She'd run out of her stash of drugs, and she was craving the next fix. She started trashing their compartment looking for some, and Minato tried to calm her down. She just went crazy, however, and she grabbed Naruto before running through the train, screaming and knocking people over." At this time Mother had clenched her eyes shut while shaking her head slowly at what had befallen her best friend. My father moved and rubbed her back soothingly as he continued.

"Minato chased after her, but it was difficult since the train had finally stopped and people were swarming, more than a few of them trying to get away from Kushina as she raved. She was losing her mind, and she ended up assaulting one of the security guards." This information elicited a couple of gasps as eyes widened in disbelief.

"They hadn't even seen it coming when she attacked them, and she managed to get the gun from them. Although she didn't shoot anyone, just seeing a screaming woman with a gun was enough to set the crowd into a panic, and soon there was total chaos. People were trampled and injured as everyone rushed to get away from her. But this was underground in a small space by the train entrance, so of course there wasn't much room. Kushina escaped from the station, still suffering from her delusions and the savage craving for the drugs. She had Naruto with her, and I have no doubt he was terrified. Minato became desperate to get him away from Kushina, since he was terrified that she might end up hurting their son by accident."

It was all so horrible. I could almost see where this was going now. Even as my father spoke, I began to piece things together in my head, and I found myself nodding along to what was being said as everything started coming together.

Naruto was an orphan. He couldn't remember his parents at all.

But the thing that was making things clear was something that hardly anyone had even bothered to notice.

Naruto had a fear of vehicles. He got nervous around cars, buses, and trains.

It was from a past trauma, is what he had once told me as someone said.

The past trauma was this. The day his parents undoubtedly died. The day his mother went insane due to her drug addiction.

"Minato chased her all the way to the bus stop. Kushina had actually gone as far as to hijack a bus. Apparently, she knew someone in Konoha who could get her a fix, and was hell bent on going to that person. Minato only just managed to get on the bus before it went off. At first, he tried to reason with her and tried to get her to relax and give Naruto to him. It seemed that set her off more, because she started screaming that he wanted to take her child away from her. It was absolute chaos on the bus, the driver barely able to drive properly because of the argument going on and because of the gun pointed at him telling him to keep driving to a certain destination."

I closed my eyes, envisioning the scene. I had no idea what Naruto's parents looked like, but I imagined his father with blonde hair and blue eyes. I could see him chasing after a woman, maybe with brown hair? Or red? Or blonde hair too? I didn't know what to place for her.

"They were nearing a bus station when it happened. Minato made a desperate move, lunging and trying to knock the gun out of Kushina's hand. During the scuffle, Naruto was dropped, and in his fear he crawled away. However, the problem was he crawled towards the bus driver. The struggle went on before finally...Minato was shot." Father's voice sounded weaker than I'd ever heard it, and I opened my eyes to see his close tightly, his hands clenched around my mother's. Itachi was looking off to the side now, one hand resting over his mouth and his eyes narrowed.

Kiba hissed softly and Sakura turned away, a tear trickling down her cheek.

I struggled to find my voice. "W-what happened then?" I forced out.

Father took several deep breaths, pulling himself together. "...Once Minato was...out of the way, Kushina turned. She was still out of her mind, and it had gotten worse after Minato was shot, since she still loved him. Now she was also grieving. When she saw Naruto by the bus driver, she just...shot him. She shot the driver then and there. At this point, it's safe to assume that Kushina was not only out of her mind from drugs and withdrawal, but she was insane. Actually, psychologically insane. What caused it or whether it was something genetic, we don't know. But Kushina was a whole different person on that day. The newspapers referred to her as 'A demon fox among the citizens'."

Mother let out an angry sound. "Kushina was _not_ a demon..." she whispered. Father pecked her on the cheek lightly in comfort.

"...Of course, with the driver dead, the bus went out of control. It crashed into the bus station and caused a massive fire, which in turn caused an explosion as the petrol was ignited. A lot of people died that day, but there were witnesses who had managed to get off the bus before it crashed who told the story."

I blinked rapidly.

"How did Naruto survive then? He couldn't get off the bus, so how?" I asked, my voice cracking from the low tone.

"Kushina saved him." Mother answered before my father could, her voice wavering slightly. "I think that in those last moments, she regained some form of her real self. She grabbed Naruto and jumped out of the bus just before the crash and explosion. The police and firemen found her amongst some rubble. She was holding Naruto to her chest, shielding him with her body."

There was absolute silence after that.

I didn't even know what to say, or what to think about it. It was all so...chaotic. Everything was messed up and insane and confusing and just...

But why was Naruto hated?

I could understand resentment towards his parents, and yes, I could see how people might be hesitant towards him upon hearing he was the son of Uzumaki Kushina. But why hate him, personally? And why do the younger generations hate him too, when they weren't even there?

I voiced my questions slowly, and this time, it was Itachi that spoke up, his voice sharp and clear and making me jolt slightly.

"Think about it, little brother. The people of Konoha have always been very narrow-minded. They see that Kushina clung onto Naruto, and in the end shot the bus driver after Naruto crawled over to him. And she also died holding him in her arms. It was bound to happen that some foolish people would assume that, had Naruto not been there, things might have been different. Had Minato not wanted to save Naruto, he may not have been shot. Had Kushina not taken care of her newborn son by herself while Minato was out doing speeches most of the time, perhaps she would not have turned to drugs. Had Naruto not existed, perhaps all those people who died would still be alive." He finished, turning to me.

I shot to my feet, anger once again boiling inside of me. "But that's-"

"Foolish, yes. Irresponsible, yes. Completely irrational, yes. But it's the way it is." Itachi cut off smoothly. Kiba also got to his feet, his eyes showing the frustration and anger he shared with me.

"But then why do the kids hate him? I doubt they thought of that!" he exclaimed loudly, waving his arms.

"The older generations have filled their children's minds with their take on the story, and sadly most of them think that Naruto has a lot of blame alongside Kushina." Father said, his voice biting with bitterness towards the fools out there.

"So that's why..." Sakura whispered, wiping at her eyes. "All this time...that's been the reason. Such a stupid reason, and he's had to suffer through so much because of it."

I clenched my fists, the anger still burning inside of me.

Why were people so ignorant? How could they put blame on an innocent child and justify it? It was so wrong! Were the people of this city really so cold as to do that? How could anyone ever, _ever_ blame Naruto for something like that? Not Naruto...

The echoing sound of footsteps made me look up to see a doctor approaching. She had dirty blonde hair, messily tied back with a lot of it still hanging loosely around her face, and large round glasses perched on her face. As she got closer, she opened her mouth and called to us.

"Uchiha-san and friends?" she called, still walking towards us. Father and mother stood up along with the rest and nodded. The doctor returned it, striding closer. "I'm Dr. Shihou and I'm going to-oh!" she let out a surprised cry as her foot bent and she lost her balance, stumbling straight into the nearby vending machines. We all stared at her in surprise as she worked to regain her balance.

Her cheeks dusted red as she straightened up, dusting off her coat. "Sorry." She mumbled. "New shoes. I'm still trying to get used to them." She said, motioning to the shiny red high heels on her feet.

I felt my shoulders sagging.

This was Naruto's _doctor_?

Once she'd regained her balance, she strode forwards again, extending her hand. Father grasped it, but I saw the slight frown on his face. He must be thinking the same as me.

"Now then, I'll be Uzumaki-kun's doctor. We've given him a once over, and tended to the most serious wounds. He's still asleep, but I'm sure you'd like to visit him either way?" she asked, to which we nodded. She gave a short nod in return, turning around and motioning for us to follow.

The walk to Naruto's room was silent. My parents were up ahead with Itachi, occasionally asking the doctor questions. I walked silently with Kiba and Sakura at my side. My head was spinning with all the information I'd just heard about Naruto's past, and I still felt that it was unbelievable how much we were connected.

It was like something out of a randomly written story. Any moment, I expected someone to turn the page, and things would be alright again.

Sadly, it seemed that life wasn't that easy.

I wasn't concentrating on where I was going, so when everyone stopped outside a room door, Kiba had to reach out and grab my shoulder, pulling me back before I could continue down the endless corridor. For a moment, we all stared at the door, Dr. Shihou looking at us in confusion.

"Uh...the door's open?" she ventured slowly, unsure in the silence.

Finally, my body kicked into motion, and I reached out and grabbed the handle, taking a breath before pulling on the door.

It didn't move.

"Oh, it's a push door." Dr. Shihou said, smiling blandly. I scowled, irritated and pushed, the door swinging away to reveal an average hospital room with four beds spread out. Naruto was on the furthest bed to the right, alongside the window.

I took a sharp breath at seeing him. Somehow, seeing him wrapped in bandages made his injuries seem all the worse. There were small patches covering his arms, covering small scratches that he'd gained. His hand was wrapped at the knuckles, and there was a large wrapping over his nose as well. Light bandages had been wrapped around his neck, chest and stomach, with extra padding at the abused area of his stomach.

His eyes were closed, but even from this distance I could see the way his lids fluttered slightly as whatever dreams he had played out. He looked a bit pale, but perhaps it was just the lighting of the room?

I hoped so.

Making sure to be quiet, I walked forwards, coming to a stop right beside his bed and looking down at him. He looked so fragile and vulnerable, although I knew that usually, he seemed to be anything but.

Sakura stood beside me, reaching over to lightly run her hand through Naruto's hair. Had it been any other situation, I may have wanted to shout at her for touching him so intimately, but I knew that right now, we all needed to be close to him. To be sure he was okay.

Kiba stared at him, his mouth nothing but a thin line. Suddenly, he turned away and started pacing, running a hand over his face before cupping it over his mouth and huffing, his eyes glaring at the wall as he walked.

I watched him pace, sensing the growing frustration inside of him and before too long, I braced myself. He was going to burst.

"Dammit!" Kiba spat, spinning around and punching the wall. A hollow sounding thud echoed in the room and I heard Dr. Shihou lose her balance again behind me, clattering into one of the other beds. Itachi and my parents were standing near the door, observing it all.

Sakura sniffed and slowly moved away from the bed, heading to the angry boy. "Kiba, calm down."

"Don't _tell_ me to calm down, Sakura! I'm not calm! I'm anything _but_ calm! Naruto was attacked and _beaten_ and fucking _touched_ by that piece of _shit_! And I couldn't do a thing about it! I didn't even know something was wrong until I saw Shikamaru running at high speed towards the entrance! What..." Kiba broke off, his voice strained. "...W-what the hell kind of friend am I?" he finished sadly.

Sakura looked away, while I turned back to stare at Naruto.

What kind of friend was he?

If that was the question weighing on his mind, it brought one to mine...

What the hell kind of boyfriend was I? I couldn't even protect my boyfriend. I couldn't stop Kabuto from hurting the one I love-

My eyes widened as the word ran through my mind. Love? Had it really gone that far?

I looked down at Naruto, my eyes tracing the curves of his face, the way his mouth parted slightly as he let out a breath, and the way he tilted his head in his sleep. Memories of everything between us replayed through my mind and my heart beat faster. Just the thought of Naruto's smile, just the sound of his laughter was enough to warm my heart.

It was so cliché and something I'd always thought was stupid, useless and completely childish.

But it was exactly how I felt.

"Kiba, I know you're upset. We're _all_ upset! How do you think I feel? I've known Naruto since we were little kids, and yet I didn't even _realize_ that he was being stalked in the first place!" Sakura ground out, the thin veil of control over the anger she felt wavering as she faced the brunet. He flinched slightly under her gaze, her words piercing through the air. I continued to stare at Naruto, willing for him to wake up and be alright.

"How long will he be asleep?" Itachi asked from behind me, being the fucking mind reader he was. Dr. Shihou shifted, pushing her large glasses back up her face.

"That depends on him. His body is resting and healing, but it's been through quite a beating. He may sleep for the whole day and wake up some time tomorrow, or he might wake up by this evening. I cannot be sure." She stated nodding her head as she verified the diagnosis.

I pulled the nearby chair over and sat down, clasping Naruto's hand within my own. It was slightly warmer than when he'd been in the bathroom and car, but it was still far too cold for my liking.

"Naruto...please..." I whispered pleadingly, resting my head against his arm and closing my eyes tightly.

Why did this have to happen?

Why was Naruto put through such horrible things when he didn't deserve them? He'd never deserved them.

"Please wake up..."

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

Silence could be stifling at times, and then it could be satisfying and uplifting. It could bring about good and bad. It was something strange indeed.

I wasn't sure what to make of the silence around me. I didn't even know where I was.

Fog seemed to surround me, and there was nothing in this place aside from me and the strange mist. But, did I even exist here? If so, why can't I feel my body? Is it there?

The effort it took to look down seemed too great during the struggle, but once I managed to look, I completely forgot just how torturous it had seemed. My body was there, but I still couldn't feel it. It's as if it was just an illusion.

With more effort, I pulled myself up into a sitting position and looked around. Still there was nothing but a blank whiteness.

"Where am I?" my voice resonated loudly, and I felt relieved that I could hear it at all.

But of course, there was no one to answer my question.

Standing, I walked a bit, just taking everything in. Not that there was much to _take_ in.

Oh look, some fog.

And look ever there! _More_ fog!

Oh look at that! Wouldn't you know it...fog! _Yay_!

I speedily came to the conclusion that whoever owned this place needed to fire the decorator, because they _sucked_.

After wandering around for what seemed like forever, an eternity and a couple of _millennium_, and seeing nothing but whiteness and _fog_, maybe I was getting just a _little_ bit frustrated.

"WHERE THE FUCK AM I DAMMIT!.?"

Well, at least this place had a cool echo effect.

I stood, listening to my own screaming as it sounded over and over again, getting softer each time. My random imagination then supplied me with a cartoon-like image of my echo being a solid figure of words that would shoot away from me, only to ram into me from behind after having traversed all the way around the globe and come back to me like a homicidal, revenge-set boomerang of echo-y death.

In case you haven't noticed, I was bored. Utterly...and unanimously..._bored_.

Sighing, I fell to my ass, crossing my legs and resting my arms on them, setting my chin in my hands. I had no clue where I was, how I got here, or how to get out.

Distantly, I realized that I should probably have started freaking out by now, but really; I was just too bored and lazy to do more than get annoyed. It suddenly struck me that I didn't remember much at all. Of course, I knew my own name, where I lived, how old I was and all of that. And I could remember my friends.

Sakura came to mind first. She was my first friend, and the one I had known for the longest. I wondered where she was and what she was doing. Was she looking for me? Was she worried?

Were the others worried? Was Sasuke searching for me? Was Shikamaru sleeping or actually doing something? Was Kiba running around like a headless chicken, screaming about how I needed to be found before I got raped or something-

It felt like an entire planet collided against me as memories came barrelling back to me, my eyes growing impossibly wide and my breath coming to a freezing halt as everything became clear again.

I had been attacked. I had been molested and I had almost been raped.

I'd almost been raped by _Kabuto_...

Scrambling to my feet, I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly feeling very cold and scared in this empty place. I gasped loudly when I felt bare skin on my hands, and looking down I almost yelled out when I saw I had no clothes on. I was so sure I'd been wearing clothes before!

I covered myself quickly, although it wasn't really necessary. What, like the _fog_ was going to start molesting me? Ha, that was just-

I screamed-like a man- when I felt something brush over my back and spun around, staring wide eyed behind me. There was nothing but more whiteness and that blasted fog.

Spinning around repeatedly, my eyes wide and darting all over the place so fast I was getting dizzy, I started to jog away, still covering myself. I'd had enough of this. I wanted out of this fucking fog-fest of bland insanity!

As I kept running, I heard something echoing towards me, and thought of my earlier comical image of my echo coming back to murder me. But the words that came through the whiteness only made me shiver in fear and run faster.

"_You're all mine now, angel_."

"No!" I gasped. No way! I wasn't anyone's! I wasn't an angel! I had never gotten an 'A' on any of my tests, nor helped any old ladies across the street! I sometimes ate my dessert before dinner! I wasn't an angel at all!

"_I'm going to break you beyond repair, my little angel..."_

Go break some glass! Go break a door! Go break a plush toy! Don't break me! I didn't want to be broken!

"_There's no one to stop me this time_."

I was now hoping my echo would return and hopefully smash the _shit _out of that other echo.

"_You truly are a...worthless child_."

"SHUT UP!" I stopped running, covering my ears and crouching down. I didn't want to hear that again. I didn't want to hear those words again.

"_Monster-_"

"_You're such an idiot-_"

"_People like you should just die-_"

"_You're never going to get anywhere-_"

"_You worthless child-_"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I yelled over and over, sinking further into myself. All the hateful words of the people, all the sneers, stares and glares. All the feelings of hatred. Everything was there now.

Figures were looming out of the fog, surrounding me and staring at me, laughing cruelly at me and the air was thick with loathing and hatred. I curled up into a ball in the centre as they circled and spat insults and words of cruelty and coldness.

"_Just a monster-_"

"_Worthless brat!_"

"_Stupid moron!_"

"Please...Just shut up." I moaned. My heart felt as if it was getting pierced by each word, the walls and guards I'd built up before – the protection I had against those hateful words – were crashing down being torn apart by the figures around me. I felt the hot wetness of tears rolling down my flushed cheeks, and bit my lip as I realized I was crying. The figures were laughing scornfully now.

"_Such an idiot! Look at him cry-_"

"_Just die, you little monster!_"

"_Nobody loves you!_"

"Stop it..." I whispered. "Please, somebody stop it..."

I just wanted it to go away. I wanted it all to stop and go away. Why was it like this? What had I ever done?

I'd been alone from the start. I'd never hurt anyone, I didn't even hate many people! Hell, there was only one or two but with good reason, I swear! I wasn't some psychopathic killer or even a rebellious drug child who kept getting arrested.

I was just an orphaned boy who wanted to be accepted...

...Why was I so hated?

"...D-dad...M-mom..." the words slipped out of my mouth, followed by a sob. Why weren't they here?.! Why weren't here for _me_?.!

Why was I so alone?

"Dad! Mom! Where are you!.?" I howled, curling up even tighter. I didn't want to be the orphan anymore. I didn't want to be the hated child anymore. I wanted to be loved. I wanted a family, and friends and a fucking normal life!

"Please..." I cried. "Please...save me. Mom, Dad...someone! Anyone!"

I didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Please...save me..."

I didn't want to hear the hateful words anymore.

"Please..."

"_**Naruto...please..."**_

I opened my eyes slightly, and through the tears and the dark figures around me, I saw a bright, white light.

"Sasuke?"

"_**Please wake up..."**_

The light grew, engulfing everything. The dark figures vanished, the words and sounds of cruelty disappearing along with them. I didn't move, watching as the light came closer, grew wider and shone brighter.

My eyes started to close, but just before I was engulfed, I heard a voice in that very random part of my mind, which sounded exactly like Kiba screeching '_Don't go into the light! Those angel-creeps might rape you!_'

But that was unlikely. They were _holey_ enough, they didn't need my hole too.

As I felt my body vanishing I wondered what the place beyond the light would be like? But one thing I knew for certain was that they wouldn't have cookies.

What a shame.

* * *

**XD this is how my older sister once described 'crying'. **

**I like bored!Naruto...he's fun to write. **

**Now then...well, there you go. The story behind Naruto's past...I sincerely hope you think it works, and please leave your thoughts in a review. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I...don't know when I'll be able to update again...School is starting on Monday for me *hysterical sob* and I'm gonna have to work my ASS off...And we all know it's hard to sit down and write when you no longer have an ass. :|**

**Reviews are awesome, and we all enjoy being awesome so join the- *is hit in face with bat* X_x**

**Kao: If I'd had to listen to that...One. More. Time... *growls***

**Kam: *pokes Juura* ...I think you killed her... O.O**


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry this took longer than expected to udpate! But, I am like...having a kind of panick attack overthe fact that I haven't updated my other ongoing story in such a long time...I literally looked at the date of when I last updated and started hyperventilating and going 'YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME?.! THAT LONG?' so yeah, I'm trying to focus a bit more on that story just to get the next chapter FINISHED already and post it. But most of my inspiration is fueling this story, hence these chapters come quicker. Once this story is finished (not yet though, still quite a bit to go) then I'll obviously throw all my focus onto the other story. So all R-S2 fans, I'm sorry it's taking so long, but I am working on the next chapter (which has some important info and explanations) so please be patient with my poor soul! (_ _)**

**Also, a big thank you to EVERYONE who's been reviewing my story! I'm sorry if I haven't answered you, but don't think that I'm not sobbing youthful tears of gratitude(oh God) after reading your encouraging words and postive feedback! You're all AWESOME!  
**

**Warnings: Swearing, some OOCness (come on, it's AU! OOC is already a given)**

**Disclaimer: Me no own ever. *sob sob***

**Note: I FREAKING ADORE THE LATEST NARUTO SHIP EPISODE! It's one of my favourite ever...And it's a filler! But DAMN that baby had so much SasuNaruSasu hintings! XD I LOVE IT!**

**Online!  
**

* * *

The first words that registered in my mind were simply 'Fucking. _Ow_.'

My entire body felt stiff and sore and my stomach was aching and my head was throbbing and dammit, I was about ready grab the nearest blunt object and knock myself out with it to get away from the pain.

However, the logical voice in my head, which sounded very much like Sakura, started giving me reasons as to why that was a very bad idea and it would only make it worse and blah, blah, blah.

I wasn't too sure I liked that version of Sakura's voice.

Opening my eyes was a battle, since my eyelids just felt so heavy, but I knew that unless I actually had a look at where I was, I wasn't going to make any progress.

There was a great rush of air, and slowly the dramatic beat of a drum and awe inspiring sound of a trumpet in the distance played as slowly, I opened my eyes to the bright lights of the world.

...My imagination was working overtime, it seemed.

But back to serious my mode. I blinked a few times, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the harsh whiteness around me. Although I couldn't see anything just yet, I knew that there were only two places I could be.

Heaven, or heaven's waiting room A.K.A the hospital.

Slowly, things came into focus and I concluded that I was still a part of the 'waiting' portion of this place. The bright light was coming from the window next to me, the sun shining directly onto my face. I guessed it was getting on in the day, maybe late afternoon if the reddened sky was anything to go by.

I tried to move, but found I was still too weak. Obviously, I was still tired and my abdomen was really sore. Curse that four-eyed devil in disguise.

Groaning at the pain, I let my eyes move to the side, and frowned when I noticed the room was empty. A sharp pang of sadness shot through me and I let my eyes look back out the window, the glaring sun not even registering as I blankly stared out over the town.

Had it been stupid of me to assume there would be someone by my bedside? There'd never been someone before, so why would that change.

'Naruto please...wake up...'

Sasuke's words... Had those been part of the dream I'd had? Had it been my imagination?

The thought of that hurt a lot more than I was ready to admit aloud. I shifted again-"_OW_!"-and looked over the room once more, trying valiantly to ignore the blatant emptiness of it.

There were three other beds, unoccupied, and a few bland decorations. And everything was white.

Well, at least there was no fucking fog this time. Because _that_ would have sucked.

I groaned again, rather loudly since there was no one around, before sighing and starting to contemplate ways to pass the time-

The door slammed open, there was a loud yell of "HE'S AWAKE!" and had I not been in such pain, I may have just screamed and fallen off the bed in my shock.

Instead, I snapped my head around, regretting it when my vision swam, before I was met with brown, pink and black and a whole lot of arms. For one nerve-wracking moment, I was convinced there was some mutant octopus-monster trying to grab me with its fleshy tentacles and devour my intestines. However, soon the loud chattering in my ears became clear and I realized it was not a mutant octopus-monster trying to devour me, but merely Kiba, Sakura and Sasuke's mother Mikoto giving me a frantic group hug.

Needless to say, I went from mildly scared to downright petrified.

"Naruto! Oh my God, are you okay?" Sakura cried as she clung to my right arm.

"We've been so fucking worried you _dumbass_!" Kiba roared while trying to become one with my chest and legs.

"Does it still hurt!.?" Mikoto asked worriedly, her hands brushing through my hair in a calming gesture.

I could only mouth wordlessly, trying to think of what to say but forever being interrupted by Sakura and Kiba as they continued to fuss and rant. Sakura seemed extremely worried, as well as Mikoto, but I wasn't sure whether Kiba wanted to hug me or throw me into the middle of the road before riding over me with a steam roller. I couldn't quite decide.

"Not to impose on your happy moment of joy at his awakening, but not only are you smothering him, I think Sasuke's on the verge of throwing you two out the window about now." Itachi's smooth voice cut through the squabbling going on around me. Mikoto immediately stopped fussing, simply standing there with one hand resting on the top of my head. Sakura pulled herself away, and I felt the blood start rushing back into my arm, giving it life once more. Kiba seemed to be a bit hesitant, clinging to the front of my hospital gown.

When I had been put in one, I was still contemplating.

Finally, after a moment, Kiba sighed and crawled off of me, and I took a deep breath at last, feeling the air rush into my now uncompressed lungs. Once I'd perfected the art of breathing, I turned my head to look to the side.

Sasuke was mere inches from my face.

"GYAAH!" I was still too sore to make any sudden moves, so I couldn't even jerk back. However, it didn't stop my mouth from opening wide and screaming. I swear I saw Sasuke's bangs flutter a bit.

Sasuke stared at me while I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart, and once that was accomplished I looked back at him.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I demanded. Sasuke didn't answer, instead continuing to stare into my eyes, as if searching for something. I stared back, waiting.

After five minutes of nothing but silence and staring, I snapped.

"WHAT?.!" I yelled in his face again.

It seemed that was the trigger to get Sasuke to move. And move he did.

Right onto my bed, his arms wrapping around my shoulders and his mouth attempting to suck my very soul out of my body.

I heard Sakura give a bit of a surprised gasp. It was then I realized she hadn't ever really seen us kiss like this, so no doubt this was new to her. Kiba was staring blankly in the background and Mikoto had discovered an absolutely _fascinating_ speck of dirt on the window which she was now observing with great interest and intent. I couldn't be sure, since my vision was ranged from side-to-Sasuke-to-side, but I had a feeling Fugaku and Itachi had started discussing some very important matters...like world domination or whatever it is evil-overlord's discuss during special moments between their offspring and said offspring's boyfriends.

My hands weakly reached up to pat Sasuke on his shoulders, and with great effort, I managed to pry him away slightly, enough for me to move.

I took the biggest gasp of air, my eyes wide and drying by the time I turned back to my soul-vampire-boyfriend.

"Teme! W-what the hell?" I asked loudly, my cheeks a bit red from the kiss. Sasuke's head was bowed, and for a moment I grew worried that perhaps I'd hurt him somehow. "O-Oi, what's wrong-"

Sasuke's forehead collapsed against my shoulder and I stilled, his hair brushing against my cheek as a soft whisper that only I could possibly hear, sounded.

"I'm so glad...you're awake."

I sat, feeling stunned at not only the admission, but the emotion in Sasuke's voice. There was such a strong mix of relief, happiness and even sorrow in his tone, I was had half a mind to pull his shirt off and check to see if his 'Perfect-Uchiha-Robot' batteries were faulty or something.

I swallowed and reached up to hug him, combing one hand through his aquatic birds' rear-end hair slowly.

"Yeah...I'm awake now." I muttered. He sighed, his breath hitting my chest. There was silence for a few moments, as everyone had a special moment. However, soon Sasuke's head snapped up, his nose slightly scrunched. I blinked, wondering what the expression was for.

"Sasuke?"

"...That hospital gown smells almost as bad as your old blanket." He said, rubbing his nose lightly. The moment was broken as Kiba snorted loudly while I grabbed the material and took a sniff, grimacing when I confirmed that it did, in fact, rival the stench of the legendary Ass-blanket.

"That's gross." I stated. Sakura giggled and walked over again, sitting down next to us. Kiba quickly sauntered over and joined, a smile on his face.

"Good to know you're still the funny moron you always were!" he cheered. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, whatever." Kiba's grin grew and Sakura looked relieved. Even Sasuke's smirk had a happy tinge to it.

I decided not to tell them that their close proximity made me feel like I couldn't breathe.

* * *

I had been told I'd have to spend at least four days in the hospital, much to my devastation. I hated this place with a passion, since all it reminded me of was sickness and death and misery for loved ones. I wasn't a pessimistic person very often, but everyone has their emo-areas, and mine happened to be the hospital.

However, there was slight relief for me when Dr. Shihou declared that by all rights, I should have stayed much longer. However, not only was I healing at, what she described, an alarming rate, but Fugaku had pulled some strings with his all-powerfulness and gotten me out early.

I owed him big time. Perhaps he'd like a set of heavenly golf clubs?

Either way, it was the third day at the hospital, and I was bored. Yesterday, Sasuke, Sakura and Kiba hadn't been able to visit, as they'd had to go to school. From what I could guess, Sasuke wasn't going to be punished for beating Kabuto. And the others agreed with the principle's decision. Kabuto was obviously expelled, but it wasn't over yet. I knew that, since the Uchiha's were helping me press charges, we'd be in court too.

I wasn't looking forward to seeing his face again.

I was sitting in my bed, one of my favourite manga open in front of me. Sakura had bought it for me on the first day. Apparently, the reason I'd woken up to an empty room was because Fugaku had decided to drag everyone out to a lunch and quick gift-shopping to try and disperse the gathering clouds of depression above their heads while they sat waiting for me to wake up. But, since Kiba had such super-hearing, he'd heard my loud groan from down the hall and sprinted to the doors to see if it was true that I was up.

I shifted slightly, wincing when my stomach bent. The most abused area was definitely my abdomen and it was taking the longest to heal. While the rest of my body was banged up, it was healing quickly so the pain was dull and bearable. I'd gotten to the best part in the story when there was a light knock on the door, and one of the nurses stuck her head in. She smiled at me when I looked at her.

"Naruto-kun, there are three visitors here for you." She said. I smiled back at her and thanked her and she ducked out of the room. Wondering who was visiting, I marked my place and set the book aside.

Soon the door was being pushed open, and I felt my eyes widen at seeing who was there.

"Naruto!"

"Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka came hurrying forwards, hugging me around the shoulders. "I got a call this morning from Sarutobi-sensei. What happened to you?" he asked worriedly.

Behind him, Tsunade and Jiraiya came barging in. Tsunade gave me a firm hug and a knock on the head, and Jiraiya simply patted my head like I was a dog.

"Hey squirt. What happened to you?" he asked as he squatted down onto a chair, his eyes only briefly glancing at Tsunade's large breasts before refocusing on me.

I was impressed he managed to stay so focused in her presence. I felt special.

Tsunade kept her silence, her hazel eyes scanning my face and chest as she took in the multiple marks and band aids.

I sighed, scratching the back of my head a bit nervously. I guessed that Sarutobi-sensei hadn't really told them everything, since he himself didn't know the entire story. I didn't really want to talk about it so soon, but I knew they'd only continue to harass me if I didn't come out with it.

"I...I got attacked at school...the day before yesterday." I mumbled. The air stilled almost as quickly as the three people sitting around me, and I could easily picture the looks on their faces, without even looking at them.

For a few moments, I waited for someone to say something, internally placing bets with myself on who would break the silence first.

"...W-what?"

And all the little Narutos who bet on Iruka win! Wow, that was more than half of them.

"Who attacked you?" Jiraiya asked, his tone dark. I shifted, clenching the sheets in my hands.

"...His name is Yakushi Kabuto, he's a classmate of mine." I said quickly. As soon as the name left my mouth, I felt sick as flashes of what had happened played through my mind. A shiver ran through my body and I curled in on myself slightly, as if afraid he would appear beside me if I said his name to much.

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked stunned while Iruka looked a bit confused, his eyes darting about as he obviously thought of something.

"Hang on," he started, leaning back a bit, "Kabuto? Yakushi Kabuto?" At my nod, he frowned. "Isn't that Orochimaru's kid?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at the other two.

Tsunade growled. "Yeah, that's him."

I stared at them. "You know him?"

"More accurately, we know his father. The three of us used to be great friends back in the day, before Orochimaru got into a bad crowd and turned ugly on us." Jiraiya explained, scowling at the memory. "Old Snake-face adopted that Yakushi kid a while back. How he managed to do that, I've no idea, but he did. It's not all that surprising that the kid turned out to be some freak show."

Iruka was looking more and more panicked. "B-But...but then..." he turned to me, gripping my shoulders. "Naruto...what exactly did he do to you? And be honest!" he added as I opened my mouth.

I stared at him, seeing the slight pleading in his eyes. When I glanced at the other two, they were watching me intently, waiting for me to tell the story.

I bit my lip, looking between them, before heaving a long and suffering sigh. "Alright, I'll tell you." Iruka nodded, moving to stand up. He was most likely going to pace, since he did that when he was anxious. Before he could completely get out of his seat, however, I reached out to grab his arm.

"You may want to stay seated. By the end, there's a good chance you'll need to sit down anyway." I mumbled. I knew Iruka well enough to guess his reaction.

It was going to be a long talk.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I stared down at the rubbish bag in my hand gloomily, not at all pleased with where I was right now. The school's sports festival had carried on after the other day's morning incident, and it had been very successful, only ending today. Once the short lived confusion and hype over seeing my family and Naruto leaving the building, with the two of us bloodied and bruised and one unconscious, everyone had gone back to their usual business and enjoyed the festival without a care as to what could have happened to Naruto.

And it was making me sick.

I saw classmates that had classes with Naruto and I. People who knew him from school continued to pass by.

And yet not one of them ever stopped to ask if he was alright.

No one even noticed he wasn't here now.

My jaw clenched in anger as I heard footsteps approaching, only to turn and see the girl Karin and her friends sauntering up to me, each holding nothing but an empty water bottle that they had probably bought and emptied by themselves, just to have an excuse to come up to me.

"Hello Sasuke-kun! How are you today?" Karin chirped. Her voice reminded me of nails on a chalk board, and it was hard to stop the wince.

Instead, I just glared at her and her groupies. I was in no mood to deal with their petty flirting and useless attempts.

"Hn." I held the bag out expectantly, waiting for them to drop their bottles.

...

What, was their 'speed' option faulty? It didn't take that much thought and concentration, or effort to reach out and let go of the bottle into the black bag! It's simple, ladies!

Reach _out_.

Let _go_.

Watch bottle _disappear_ with awe.

Turn around, walk _away_ and hopefully never come within fifty five thousand feet of me ever again.

Was that too hard?

"Sasuke-kun, where were you all of Monday? We missed you!" one of her friends said, pouting and crossing her arms under her mosquito bites-oh wait those were her _boobs_- in an effort to look cute.

And those bottles were still in their hands.

I felt sorry for the plastic. It had to be touched by those long nailed, manicured...things!

Eugh.

Suddenly, I heard more approaching footsteps, and I looked over my shoulder to see Mizuki walking towards us, his steps firm and his face set. I narrowed my eyes, dropping the back and turning to face him, my arms held steady at my sides and my feet apart. Behind me, the girls shut their mouths, obviously sensing something was coming. Mizuki stopped several feet away, staring at me with narrowed eyes. I met his gaze, not backing down from any challenge he may be presenting.

...Why could I hear the 'Eye of the Tiger' playing somewhere in the background?

Shaking that thought aside, I waited, wondering what Mizuki wanted. I also had something to say to him, but it could wait.

After a staring match, which I wasn't even sure if it was a challenge or not, Mizuki finally stepped forwards again, waving his hands dismissively at the girls behind me.

"You three girls, you're slacking. Get back to cleaning. This field needs to be clean by the end of the day. Everyone else is doing their part, but I've seen you three do nothing but drink your waters and chat to boys. There's time for that after school." He scolded, and the three girls squeaked out apologies before dropping their bottles-_finally_- and scurrying away-_hallelujah_- to start cleaning like the rest of the students.

Mizuki continued forwards until he'd passed me, but I heard him stop right behind me and tensed, waiting for him to speak.

"...How..." I blinked, glancing back at him at the odd word. I was surprised to see he looked rather awkward. I waited, wondering what he was going to say.

He took a few moments to get himself together before he sighed, and looked somewhere to the right of me.

"How is Uzumaki doing?"

I had not expected that question, so it took me a moment to register that it had been said at all. When the momentary surprise was gone, I swallowed and straightened up, returning my face to its usual stoic mask.

"Hn. He'll be out of hospital in two more days. He's healing at a good rate." I said emotionlessly, reaching down and grabbing the bag I'd dropped. I scowled when I noticed one of the girls had managed to miss the bag and dropped their bottle on the floor, where it had rolled away. I reached towards it, but another hand closed around it before I could, and I stared up at Mizuki as he held the bottle out.

"...That's good." He murmured, his eyes trained on the bottle in his hands and not on my, now gaping, face. It took me a good minute to reach out and take the bottle, tossing it into the bag. Mizuki immediately straightened and dusted his hands, but it was more of an uncomfortable gesture than anything else. I stood watching him, wondering when he'd...changed.

Suddenly, a thought struck me that made me stumble. It was barely noticeable, so I didn't worry he'd seen it, but it was enough to shock me completely. Slowly, as I stared at the teacher that I'd come to dislike greatly over the past few weeks...

"Sensei?"

Mizuki looked up, and I found his shocked face rather amusing to see as he forced out a "yes?"

But it was not all that surprising.

After all...

"...Thank you...for asking about Naruto."

I didn't smile at other people very often.

Mizuki blinked bemusedly, looking a bit lost. However, soon I saw comprehension dawn on his face as he realized what I was getting at, and he once again looked a bit out of place and lost. He clapped his hands together, nibbling on his bottom lip.

"Right." he murmured. "Yeah."

I smirked, looking down at my hands. I saw the light marks from shallow scratches I'd gained after breaking the pipe from the wall. It brought forth another thought and I sighed, feeling a little annoyed I was showing so much gratitude in one day.

"Also...thank you for stopping me on Monday." I muttered, shifting my feet. "You stopped me from doing something I'd regret."

At that, Mizuki smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets, his white dress shirt bunching up around his arms.

"You wouldn't have regretted it, Uchiha." He stated, raising one eyebrow at me, as if to challenge me to deny it.

I stared back at him before smirking. "You're right sir. But still...Thanks."

He nodded, looking off to the side at some students that were messing around until they caught sight of his glare and quickly resumed picking up rubbish. I shook the bag in my hand, checking to see if I needed to empty it yet. There was still a bit of space, so I guess I could wait a bit more-

"I used to have an older brother."

I froze, staring at my hands. That had come out of nowhere, and the tone had seemed...strange. Nostalgic, maybe.

I looked up slowly, but Mizuki was still looking away. I wondered if he'd even realized he'd spoken at all. I decided to keep quiet and see what he would do next.

He took a breath, his eyes glazed over. "...He was...really annoying. Always pulling tricks on me, and getting me into trouble. And our parents adored him. They treated him different to how they treated me. They still loved me, and took great care of me...but there was always something about the way they treated him that made me feel like I was missing out on something." He paused, sniffing and tilting his neck to rid himself of a crick.

I straightened up, wondering why he had started talking about something like this, and to me of all people. But somehow, I felt that perhaps this would answer something. My gut was telling me to pay close attention.

"He bullied me a lot, and I used to say I hated him. And all he would ever do was laugh in my face and tell me 'I was just a brat'. And that would make me hate him all the more. As I got older, I grew apart from him. He went off to college, and I hardly spoke to him. I still told everyone he was an ass though." Mizuki smirked, still looking distant. I felt I could at least relate to that part of his story. I constantly reminded Itachi of his asinine status, after all. But he did the same to me, so we balanced out.

Although, I was pretty sure Itachi's sneak-poke attacks between my eyes were unfair most of the time.

Mizuki sighed, combing one hand through his hair. "...When he was 24, he graduated from his college. I was your age. He called me and told me he wanted to spend the day with me before he left for his new job in another state. I agreed since I really didn't have anything better to do. So we met up outside our house and started to walk...to the bus station."

I felt something inside me freeze over and drop before shattering. Hesitantly, I looked up at Mizuki and saw there was a pained look on his face. But I wasn't sure if it was pained from memories...or from his attempt at keeping it from showing his old anger.

He smacked his lips, looking down at his shoes. After a moment, he took another deep breath and looked up. "You know the story, right? About Uzumaki?" he asked, his tone blank.

I stared at him before nodding slowly. "Yes...I know it."

"So you know that people died in that incident." He continued in that empty tone.

"...Yes..." I replied, bracing myself for the blow I could see coming.

"Yeah. My big brother was one of them." Mizuki said, his voice cracking on the last word. He huffed and cleared his throat, his eyes looking around. I vaguely noticed that quite a lot of time had passed, and that students had moved to another part of the field. My bag wasn't going to get filled anytime soon.

"He...We had arrived and were among the crowd waiting for the next bus to leave. And it was then that we started talking about the old days. When I told him I still thought he was a complete jerk...he laughed. And he said 'You're still just a brat.'" Mizuki leant heavily on one foot. "And then, he smiled at me and told me he was so glad to see his baby brother."

I felt my mouth run dry, and it was now easy to see the growing sadness in my Maths teacher's eyes. I could understand what he was saying now. I understood what he was explaining.

This was his reason. This was why...all that time...

He had hated Naruto.

"When I asked him what medicines he'd been mixing, he'd just ruffled my hair and gotten me into a headlock. It was like nothing had changed between us. And then...then that bus crashed, and everything was chaos. But all I could see was my big brother pushing me down before he vanished in a burst of flames." Mizuki's voice was hollow by the end, and I couldn't look at him.

A heavy silence descended between us, our backs to each other. I stared straight ahead, my hands fisting in the bag. I could hear Mizuki shuffling his feet behind me, and the very soft sniffs he took every now and then. Finally, I tilted my head up to the sky, looking at the white clouds floating overhead.

"...Sensei...I...I understand why you felt resentment towards Naruto. In all honesty..." I swallowed. "If...If it had been me, I may have been exactly the same."

There was a sigh from behind me.

"Yesterday, I realized why my brother had said what he said." He muttered, his voice a bit thicker than normal. "When he said I was just a brat, he was right. That's all I was. And to be honest...that's what I still am." Here, Mizuki chuckled humourlessly. "I'm still the bratty kid brother who thinks everyone's out to get him. But yesterday, after...everything...I realized just how wrong I'd been this entire time. I've made many mistakes."

I turned my head to look over my shoulder, smirking at my teacher. "Don't worry...You're only human after all."

Mizuki turned his head and glanced at me, a slight frown on his face. "You trying to tell me you're not a human, Uchiha?" he asked.

I sniggered. "Well, sir, according to Naruto, all the Uchiha's are 'perfect-robots'."

Mizuki stared at me, his face blank before he furrowed his brows. "An Uchiha making a joke." He muttered before shaking his head. "Uzumaki, what have you done?"

I smirked, pulling the bag up and slinging it over my shoulder. "But sir...As much as I, uh, _appreciate_ you telling me this...I need to ask why you are telling me this?" I tilted my head. "The one you really should talk to is Naruto, since this is between you and him."

Mizuki smirked, and I saw a familiar evil behind that smile. A shadow of the old, snarky Mizuki had emerged briefly.

"Oh? And here I thought it would be better to explain myself to Uzumaki's over-protective _boyfriend_ before confronting him. After all," he grinned, already walking away and ignoring my indignant frown, "I don't want you coming at _me_ with a rusty pipe, thank you very much."

I blinked, utterly bemused.

And then, I smirked, following after him so that I could empty the bag and continue my work. When I was close enough, I called out to him.

"Don't worry sir. No pipes. I have a very nice metal bat, reserved just for you."

Mizuki's snort scared more than half the student's nearby, while my grin took care of the rest.

* * *

**I don't know why, but at some point in a previous chapter, a while ago...I had the random urge to make Mizuki an okie dokie dude. Don't ask me why, I just...felt like it. ¬_¬**

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Not sure when the next will be done, but I hope you all have patience! Please leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter! I LOVE YOU ALL! ^_^  
**

**Kao: *crawls in, looking beaten and abused* You...Bastards...I told you...that she...was...Alive!**

**Juura: What happened to him?**

**Kam: A couple of fans threatened him, and then some of your friends beat him up because they thought you were dead.**

**Juura: And...you didn't help him?**

**Kam: Not at all. :)**

**Juura: *sighs* You guys... *looks at Kao* ...Kao?**

**Kao: X_x  
**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter!**

**Well...I suppose this is another, uh...'transition' chapter, since it points to a new direction, sort of. Anyway...uh...**

**I'M ALONE AT HOME! ...two nights ago, my mom decided she wanted to go visit her father, who stays like...3 hours away or something, and she wanted to stay for a few days. Anyway, she left the same night she made the decision, and took her husband (not related to me in any way) with her. That left me here to look after the house and the dog...COOL! It's been so peaceful, but I had to walk up to the convenience store to buy some stuff to eat, since there was nothing in our fridge. -_- And the dog is so troublesome. He's a spoiled thing so he keeps trying to get onto my bed to sleep, but he SHEDS like HELL and his fur is white (dalmation) and my sheets are black. I do not want a fuzzy sheet. So yeah..it's a constant battle between us. XD**

**But I'm enjoying the peace and quiet...it's not gonna last for much longer though.**

**Anyway, here we go! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Warnings: swearing, hallucinations.**

**Disclaimer: Me no own. :'(**

**Online!  
**

* * *

I turned over, the hospital blanket slipping off my shoulder. I wasn't really asleep, but rather just drifting in between. It was the late afternoon once again, and Tsunade, Jiraiya and Iruka had left an hour or so ago.

As I had expected, their reactions were similar to my predictions.

Jiraiya had gone stony faced, his gaze not really touching down on anything while his mind went into overdrive over various scenarios of what he could do about it. Tsunade had been livid, and had accidentally broken the chair she'd been sitting on when she punched between her legs in anger. She'd spent a good deal of time fuming and throwing out various suggestions of ways to assassinate Kabuto.

Iruka had been, in my opinion, the scariest. He hadn't raised his voice, or even made death threats at Kabuto's name. All he had done was stay seated, his hands clenched on his lap. He'd asked me in the quietest voice if I was doing okay before he looked up, and I'd felt myself shiver at the cold fury displayed in those normally warm eyes. He was beyond livid. I knew that if Iruka had seen Kabuto, even at a distance, at that moment he would not have hesitated to kill him with one snap of the arm to the neck. Iruka was the scariest out of the three because he was normally such a nice, kind and often motherly type of guy with a normal temper for a teacher. However, when he got honestly and truly mad, it was like he was a whole different being. A true killer and you could see the intent in his eyes.

I prayed that I would never be on the receiving end of that anger. Because it would be the day I died for sure.

The silence of the room helped me to ease more towards sleep, and I snuggled closer into my pillow, looking forward to some sweet dreams.

"_Hello, Naruto-kun_."

I shot up so fast, looking around the room frantically, but it was empty save for me. I was panting heavily, my heart rate well beyond normal as I tried to find the owner of that voice. It had sounded like he was right there next to my bed. And that voice was easily recognizable.

Kabuto.

But there was no way he could've been here. He was not allowed to walk free; in fact I was sure he was in a holding cell at the police station. Or something like that.

I placed a hand over my heart, trying to will it to calm down and beat at a normal pace. There was no reason for me to freak out. It was over and done with. Kabuto wasn't going to be able to attack me ever again. It wasn't going to happen.

...

Don't you hate it when you can't manage to convince yourself of something?

I sank back into the bed, looking up at the ceiling. I didn't like the feeling I had. It was the same as the fear I'd felt when I'd been locked in the bathroom with Kabuto. That sense of imminent danger looming, and the horrid sinking of your stomach when you could see no way out of it.

But he was gone. He wasn't going to hurt me anymore.

So why was I at such unease? He hadn't managed to do anything to me aside from beating me up. Hell, even when he was molesting me, it was hadn't gone any further than what I'd done with Sasuke, really. It was barely attempted rape in my opinion, since he never got me fully naked.

I ran a hand over my face, feeling sweat and I stared at my glistening skin. As much as it hurt my already damaged pride...I was scared.

What Kabuto had done to me, and the things he'd said; it scared me. I'd thought the words he spoke wouldn't be an issue since I'd heard similar things before from almost everyone around me save for my friends. But even so...when those words were grouped with a beating and unwelcomed contact, it made them seem millions of times sharper and more poisonous.

I shivered, letting my eyes close. Hopefully I'd be able to get rid of the horrible feelings clouding my head and heart. It was only then that I realized I was shaking. I pulled my hand up to my face, opening my eyes to look at the trembling limb. I could only stare at how much it jerked and twitched and shivered.

Just how scared was I really?

I clenched my fist, trying to still the shaking even a little, but it didn't work. I felt annoyed at myself for appearing so weak. I'd dealt with things alone before, and I knew that this time I had friend that were there for me, but I still couldn't stop the shaking.

I rolled over, burying my face into the pillow and trying to halt the tremors that had spread through my entire body. I felt so cold, even though there was a blanket over me. I clutched at the sheets, trying to suck the warmth out, but it didn't help. My teeth were chattering by now, and I finally figured out, with my genius intellect, that I needed to call a nurse.

My arm shook uncontrollably as I reached out, aiming for the small button to summon the nurse. My mouth was attempting Morse code by now, and my exposed arm felt like it had been plunged into a bucket of ice, but I could see sweat glistening on my skin.

Just my luck. A fever of some type had to strike me.

I fucking hate my life right now.

That damn button was just a little bit out of reach, and I groaned at the fact I'd have to shift. I had little warmth as it was, I didn't want to lose it all, even if it was imagined. I tried to stretch my arm even more.

A hand grabbed my wrist, and I saw Kabuto's leering face inches from my own.

I screamed loud enough to wake the dead, thrashing away. The narrow bed vanished and I clattered to the floor, reopening a few of the cuts on my body. I was still shivering and gasping for air, looking around frantically, but of course there was no one there.

My eyes were the size of saucers as I scanned the room like a frightened animal. My wrist felt freezing cold, and I faintly heard sobbing before I realized it was my own heavy sobbing breaths.

"_Let's have fun._"

I grabbed at my head, trying to block out the voice in my memories. It was haunting me like a vengeful ghost, the memories even more vivid and worse than the truth. I curled in on myself, trying to become as small as possible. I could only wish that that would be enough to save me.

The door was pushed open and soon a nurse was by my side, asking me what was wrong and trying to get me to stand. As soon as her hand reached out, something in my head went off. I cried out, slapping the hand away and staring up at her in horror, half at whatever had gone off in my head, and half at the fact I'd just done that.

She backed away, realizing I wouldn't let her close. Then she was turning and darting to the door, calling out. I shivered, and breathing seemed tiring. There were more footsteps before Dr. Shihou appeared with two other male nurses.

"Naruto-kun! What's the matter?" she questioned, rushing closer and reaching out her hand.

My arm moved and I was slapping the limb away before I really realized it. All the time, I could only curl up even more into the corner, trying to get away from them. The memories of being cornered in the bathroom by Kabuto were springing up in my head like demonic daisies on a hilltop of gloom. Seeing the nurses surround me was bringing up memories of previous dreams and nightmares. It was horrible. I wanted them to stop.

"L-leave me a-alone!" I stammered as the two male nurses advanced. "Get away!"

"He's suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. He's most likely hallucinating and reliving the trauma of the attack." Dr. Shihou was saying, but her words were soft and muted. I couldn't even see her. All I could see were dark figures getting closer, surrounding me before one of them stepped forwards into the light, becoming clear.

Kabuto.

He was smirking at me, his arm reaching out to grab me; to hurt me. My heart was racing in fear. I didn't want him to come near me ever again.

When that arm got closer, with no stopping in sight, I screamed again, the fear over taking me, and I tried to run.

"LEAVE ME ALONE! GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled, trying to duck past him. Suddenly, the dark figures around him moved and grabbed me, halting me. I struggled frantically, crying out and kicking at anything and everything. Fear was clawing at my insides like a rabid monster, and my vision was swimming between the hospital room and the school bathroom.

"SOMEONE HELP ME! LET ME GO!" I cried, thrashing around as much as I could.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun! It's alright! You're safe now!" Dr. Shihou was calling, but I didn't believe her. I couldn't believe her. How could I when I was being held against my will?

That just didn't sit well with me at all.

"P-Please let me go! I n-never did anything w-wrong!" I called, my voice breaking with my fear. Why was I put through this? What had I ever done to deserve it? What?

"He needs sedatives. Someone get them!"

Sedatives?

They wanted to fucking drug me?

Hell no!

I kicked harder, trying to escape, all the while screeching for them to let me go and leave me alone.

"What the hell are you doing to him?.!"

A pair of warm arms wrapped around me, and the restraints on my limbs seemed to melt away before I was pulled back into a warm body, my head being guided to rest in the crook of a shoulder by a gentle hand. Fingers were combing through my hair, and a familiar scent hit my nose.

...It made my nose itch a bit.

"S-Sasuke..." I gasped, clutching onto him like he was a lifeline, which he was to me. He held me tightly, making hushing sounds and placing light kisses on my head. I could feel myself calming down in his embrace, ever so slowly. I felt safe in his presence, and like a leech I sucked up the comfort and warmth he gave me, using it to calm my nerves and let logic return to my fear-clouded head.

"Uchiha-kun. It's good to see you. I'm sorry you had to see that, but I'm afraid that he's suffering PTSD." Dr. Shihou said. "He was panicking, hence our actions to restrain him." She explained.

Sasuke nodded slowly, still hushing me. "Well, I'm here now. You won't need to 'restrain' him. I'll keep him calm." He said, already leading me to the bed. "And I'll be there for him."

Dr. Shihou nodded, stepping aside and motioning for the others to leave. "I'm sorry, once again. I'll contact a therapist who specializes in these cases and I'll make sure to give the information to your father." She said. "Try to keep him anchored in the present, and make him realize he's safe now." She added before quickly excusing herself after the others.

Sasuke led me to sit down on the bed, still keeping his arms around me, a type of line that I could hold onto and keep myself out of those vivid flashbacks. I was finally calming down, and now I thought about it, I realized I'd been acting insane. I had been hallucinating before. Kabuto wasn't here, and he wasn't going to be here. There were no dark figures trying to catch me, just two male nurses who I ended up kicking in the nuts.

I felt guilty now. What if they never got to multiply and have little man-nurse babies? That would be horrible.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sasuke asked softly, pulling away just a bit to look at me. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision.

"I...I don't know. I don't know why I started freaking so bad. I...I'm hallucinating, Sasuke." I murmured. He hugged me again, his hand brushing through my hair before reaching my back.

"It's okay, Naru. It'll be fine. I'm here for you." He mumbled, rubbing my back soothingly before patting it lightly.

I stared over his shoulder for a moment, trying to pull myself together after the freak out. Once I'd done that, I scoffed lightly. "This is a total chick flick moment we've got going here." I stated, smirking when I felt him give a slightly harder pat on my back.

"Way to ruin the moment, dobe."

"Just doing my job, teme."

"You should get paid."

"You're right. I should!"

Sasuke pulled back, shaking his head in amusement. He let his forehead bump against mine and smiled.

"Glad to see you're back to normal." He said softly. "Well...as normal as you can be, anyway." He added.

I grinned, closing my eyes and bumping against his head a bit. "I'm sorry...for freaking out. I guess I'm still just dealing with...it." I said slowly. Sasuke nodded.

"Don't worry about it. I'm here for you, and so are Kiba and Sakura and Shikamaru and my whole family. Hell, I'm sure that even Deidara's going to come bursting in here with flowers and homemade fireworks once he finds out you're in the hospital." He said.

I frowned. "I'm pretty sure there's a rule of 'No fireworks' in the hospital." I stated. Surely they wouldn't allow fireworks or crackers or anything like that. There had to be a safety or health hazard somewhere.

Sasuke smirked. "Dobe, you think that's enough to stop him? Don't forget, he's a friend of Itachi's."

I chuckled. "Right, right. If he can survive the Devil, he can survive a few hospital arguments." I nodded, smiling. Sasuke gave a short nod and a grunt in return, his hands rubbing my upper arms soothingly.

I noticed he was doing a lot of soothing motions, and I realized he was still worried I was going to freak out.

"Sasuke...I'm okay now." I said, clasping his hands with my own and pulling them to our laps. He sighed, swaying his head slightly.

"I know. I just...I just want to make sure." He said, frowning awkwardly. I grinned, knocking his shoulder with my own.

"You obviously don't do the whole 'cheering up' thing much do you?" I teased.

Sasuke glanced at the ceiling in his Uchiha-eye roll and thinned out his lips. "Shut up."

I laughed, tilting my head back and looking up at the ceiling.

It felt so much better when he was there. Just knowing that a familiar and friendly presence was nearby helped me to feel so much safer. When I was alone, I didn't feel safe at all. I was vulnerable.

"You look tired. Have you been having trouble sleeping?" Sasuke asked quietly, his eyes looking over my face. I licked my dry lips, searching for a way to word it without making him worry, but there was little chance of that.

"Uh yeah...I've just been having bad dreams. Dreams of...what happened." I avoided his gaze, choosing instead to look at my lap. I didn't want to talk about it yet, but I knew that I'd have to eventually.

"Naruto... I know you don't want to talk about it right now, but you're going to have to do it eventually."

Fucking mind reader, this one. It scares me sometimes.

"Dude, you've got to stop that." I said, looking at him seriously. He blinked, confused.

"Stop what?"

"You know what, you damn mind reader." I retorted. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed, and I snickered at his confusion. Before he could question, I yawned widely, feeling even more tired than I had before. Sasuke immediately pushed me down and pulled the blankets up over me.

"You're tired. Get some sleep, okay?" he said sternly.

I rolled my eyes at him and poked my tongue out. "What are you, your mother?" I teased. Sasuke smirked.

"If you want me to act like my mother, I'll start rocking you and singing out-of-tune lullabies." He said seriously.

I laughed weakly, envisioning Mikoto doing that before shuddering. "Dude, your mother is awesome and all, but she scares me."

"She scares everyone. Just wait until you see her get angry." Sasuke muttered, and the both of us shuddered. I relaxed into the pillows, feeling my eyes grow heavy. Sleep sounded really good right now, since I hadn't gotten all that much since the incident. I saw Sasuke move out of the corner of my eye, and my arm shot out, grabbing onto his shirt and tugging. He paused, looking over his shoulder at me.

"...Stay with me?" I asked quietly, biting my lip. I hated sounding like a frightened child, but I didn't think I could bear waking up after another nightmare only to find myself alone.

Sasuke didn't hesitate to sit down, his hands coming up to hold my own. "Don't worry, dobe. I'm not going anywhere."

I smiled, letting my eyes close. "You're just full of chick flick moments aren't you?" I teased, my voice soft and sleepy. I heard Sasuke snort and the hands squeezed mine briefly.

"Dobe."

I grinned.

* * *

It was my supposed last day in the hospital, and I was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling and contemplating the numerous different uses for garden slugs to pass the time.

You may guess that time is passing slower than ever because of this fact.

After my freak out yesterday, Dr. Shihou had told me I needed therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. She said she wasn't surprised that I was suffering from nightmares and the occasional flashback or hallucination after what I went through. Being assaulted and molested by someone, especially when you believe you're alone, leaves a scar on your mind that will take a lot of time and support to heal.

Well, that's how she put it.

I knew that it would take me some time to get back to my regular self. It was obvious that being around strangers made me nervous, especially since I had a violent flinching attack when one of the janitors accidentally brushed my shoulder when I was going to the bathroom. The poor man had stopped to ask if I was okay, but all I'd done was flinch away from him and run back to my room with a shouted 'sorry' over my shoulder.

Sasuke had, of course, tried to lighten the mood by making a wise crack about how we should find the janitors closet and make-out. I kicked him off the bed in reply.

The Uchiha's were going to pick me up as soon as Sasuke was out of school. However it seemed that both Mikoto and Sasuke were extremely reluctant to let me stay at my small apartment on my own. In fact, from what I heard from Itachi, they'd cornered Fugaku in his own office and given him the 'concerned mother and boyfriend' stares until he'd relented.

I was going to be staying with the Uchiha's until I was back to my usual awesome and cheery self.

I was a bit excited, since I enjoyed spending time with them. It felt like a family. However, I was also nervous. As much as I adored the Uchiha's, being around people still made me a bit uncomfortable. It saddened me since I knew that none of the Uchiha's would ever hurt me.

Not even Itachi...I _think_.

But Sasuke and Mikoto wouldn't have taken no for an answer anyway, so I knew I'd have to face whatever leftover fears I'd gained and get rid of them.

One thing I was sure of was that Kiba was going to do his absolute nut when he found out I was living at Sasuke's house for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if he camped out on the Uchiha garden in order to keep a watch over me.

I sniggered to myself at the image of Kiba squatting in front of a tent, dressed in cameo gear and a large pair of binoculars glued to his eyes as he spied through Sasuke's bedroom window from his spot in the back garden.

There was a knock on the door and I looked over, wondering who it was. I knew it was still around one-ish, and school only got out at around two or three today. Knowing Sasuke, he'd probably be torn between ditching his extra classes or activities in order to get me out of hospital faster or staying so that his grades and honours don't go down for missing out.

Poor bastard.

Sitting up as the nurse peeked in once again, I tilted my head in question as to who was here. She smiled.

"You have a visitor. Shall I let him in?" she asked.

I nodded, wondering if it was maybe Iruka, or Jiraiya. Or maybe Fugaku had come early or something?

The door opened wider, and I felt my eyes do the same when I saw who was waiting there.

"M-Mizuki-sensei?"

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I sat tapping my foot impatiently. It was the last lesson of the day. History with Kakashi, and it was taking forever to come to an end. I'd already decided I would ditch my after school activities. I just hoped my father would understand and wouldn't kick my ass back into the school to do them. But I didn't want to keep Naruto waiting.

He was coming home with me.

I suppressed a smirk at the thought and tried valiantly to make my thought pattern a bit more innocent. Naruto was coming home with me purely because it wouldn't be good if he were to be left alone for a while, since he would feel scared and vulnerable. It was for his own health and not for pleasure.

I frowned down at my paper, tapping the pencil against the desk as I stared at the words. It wasn't a test, thankfully. Just a normal assignment that could be left for homework if we wanted, so I didn't need to focus on it too much.

Instead, I thought about the best ways to help Naruto get through the stress from the incident. Even if he hadn't said anything, I'd noticed the way he inched away from the others, and the fact he seemed unable to look people in the eye anymore. He'd lost all trust towards people, not that I could blame him at all. I just hoped it wouldn't last for too long. Naruto was not meant to be an isolated, shell-hidden person. He was vibrant and bright, a miniature sun amidst a crowd full of dull lights.

I groaned and slumped back in my seat slightly. A few of the students glanced my way, doing a double take at seeing my terrible posture. Usually I sat as straight as a board during class, but today I was feeling extremely lazy. I felt like most students who just wanted the clock to get a move on already and set me free.

Kakashi glanced up from whatever choice story he'd been reading today, and like most of the students, he stared at me in slight surprise. I felt annoyed that I'd gained so much attention with a simple soft groan and a change in my posture.

A few seats away, towards the left of me, Kiba was tapping his fingers against his desk. He was obviously waiting for the day to end just as much as I was. From what I'd heard from Sakura this morning, Kiba had been unable to visit Naruto since the day of the incident because of some family things. Something about his mother having to leave for a trip the day after the sports festival started, and him not being allowed to go so far out into the town by himself.

I held back a smirk.

For all Inuzuka's tough attitude and rough and rowdy behaviour, he was a complete momma's boy.

I ignored the voice in my head whispering snidely '_So are you, Uchiha_.'

My thoughts wandered aimlessly and soon I was thinking about Naruto's past. I hadn't been able to bring myself to tell him the story yesterday, especially since he'd had a freak out. I had been worried that finding out what happened right then would've only made him feel worse.

Also, I didn't want to tell him on my own. I thought it would be better if I told him with Kiba, Sakura and Shikamaru, and maybe even my parents too. Perhaps we could have a dinner while he was at my house, and invite them over. Then he'd have all of his friends there with him when the bomb was dropped.

I decided to run the idea by my parents when we left for the hospital to see what they thought.

Suddenly, there was a shrill ringing in the school, and students began packing their things. I bolted up from my seat, and I didn't even bother to gather my things neatly, instead just zipping open my bag, shoving everything on my desk into it without a care if it actually got in or not before zipping it up again. Students around me had stopped to gape, obviously baffled at the sudden change in my usual routine, but I could care less. Kiba was doing the same, and Sakura was also hurrying.

As soon as Kakashi gave the nod to say we could leave, I was out of the classroom. It was a bit amusing to hear Kakashi yell after me.

"Class representatives shouldn't run in the school halls!"

I reached the front doors, pushing my way through the surging crowd of students. Seriously why were they moving so slow? Was there an accident in the halls? Some student lost control of his feet and swerved into another and caused a massive student-traffic pile up or something?

Finally, after much grunting, shoving and low cursing, I broke free of the stream of bodies and darted out the front entrance. Without waiting to catch my breath, I began running towards the gates. Shikamaru passed me by, calling out a goodbye and a 'tell Naruto I said hi' to which I waved over my shoulder in reply.

I kept up a steady pace down the streets, dodging people along the way as I made my way home. My mother should have gotten a bedroom prepared for Naruto, and if I was lucky, it would be the one close to my room, almost right next door if not for the small storage cupboard between them. I thought it would be the best option, since I'd be able to hear him if he called out in the night from a nightmare or for any reason. Also, the fact it was so close to me was a nice benefit too.

It seemed that time slipped by and soon I was running towards my front door.

However, in my haste, I once again forgot the dreaded extra step. My foot caught on it and I was thrown forwards with a sharp yell. If that wasn't already disastrous, I caught a glimpse of the door swinging open before my face made contact with the door's edge. There was a distinct crunching sound, and all I felt was sharp yet throbbing pain in my face as I slid to the porch, blood dripping down my chin.

Above me, I heard Itachi's surprised grunt as well as his worried voice calling out.

"Mother, I think Sasuke's nose is broken!"

"What? How?"

"He slammed his face into the door edge."

I spat out some blood and glared up at him. "I did no such thing! My foot got caught and you opened the door. You slammed it into me!" I yelled.

Mother soon came around the corner, a napkin in her hand and an icepack too. She gasped when she saw me and quickly knelt down, dabbing at the blood and trying to press the ice to my face to numb the sting.

"Oh dear, Sasuke. Are you going to be okay?" she asked. I nodded slowly, tentatively prodding at my bleeding nose.

"Don't worry. I don't think it's really broken." I sniffed. It did hurt, but it didn't really feel broken. Just partially crushed, perhaps.

"Why is everyone crowding around the front door?" Father asked as he walked up. He looked down, his eyes zoning in on me and my bloody face. After a moment he sighed.

"Dirty thoughts or your brother?" he asked.

I blinked. "The second one."

Father turned to Itachi and whacked him upside the back of the head. "Be more careful." He scolded before striding past. "Come on everyone, let's hurry. Sasuke, go change quickly so we can leave."

I nodded, getting to my feet, holding the napkin and ice to my face. Mother was heading towards the car along with father while Itachi stood waiting to lock up after me. As I passed, he made a slicing motion at his neck before pointing to me. I gave him a one fingered salute in return and disappeared upstairs to change.

Absently, I wondered what Naruto was doing right now.

* * *

**Before anyone freaks out, I'll tell you now. Mizuki is NOT a bad guy anymore. So no, he's not up to anything sinister at all, so breathe. XD**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll try to work on the next one quickly and get it done, but I can't make any promises!**

**Reviews are soooo nice. And we all like being nice. So be nice and leave a nice review! Pressed the button? NICE!**

**Kao: -_- you know, just changing the word to 'nice' instead of 'awesome' doesn't make it any better. *picks up bat***

**Juura: *backs away* if you hurt me, the readers will tear you apart since the story won't be finished!**

**Kao: *pales and puts bat down again* Dammit...  
**


	27. Chapter 27

**I really just wanted to get this chapter out, so it's a bit shorter than my usual...buuuut it's an update, so...no complaints right? :)**

**Hehe...hopefully my 'Classified' reviewer will forgive the delay. Please don't be like a three pronged kunai and kick my butt for the late update. O.O''' **

**Lols all around! **

**I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Warnings: swearing, awkwardness.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I'm staking a partial claim on Nice!Mizuki. :) I own his good side, and Kishi-kun can keep the original asshole. XD**

**Online!  
**

* * *

This was definitely going into my 'most-awkward-and-uncomfortable-moments' notebook. I stared at everything but the man sitting on the chair a few feet away from my bed. I could tell he was most likely doing the same as me and trying to find great interest in the bland white walls.

I couldn't figure it out. I couldn't figure him out.

One moment he was my enemy.

And then he was an enemy under question of his enemy-ness.

And now he was a...what was he now? He definitely wasn't a friend. But was he an enemy anymore?

One thing I knew for sure...

Mizuki-sensei had successfully left me baffled beyond belief.

He was sitting about four feet away in the chair that Sasuke usually occupied when he visited. His arms were crossed over his white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his biceps. The tie he usually wore was undone, hanging loosely around his neck. Obviously he, like the students, didn't enjoy wearing formal uniforms and would modify it as soon as school was out. His right leg tapped a bit uncertainly on the floor as he surveyed the room.

I sat on the bed, the blanket pulled over my legs and my hands twisting together on my lap while I observed my corner of the room. The awkward air around us was thick and heavy, and I was waiting for the sound of nurses stampeding outside towards the maternity ward, shouting about 'a sudden surge of homosexual births occurring', to sound outside the door.

I knew that Mizuki had obviously come for a reason. I doubt he stumbled into the hospital, and the nurse used psychic abilities to figure out we knew each other and dumped him here with me.

Unless, of course she was an alien who was planning to assist the influx of gay children into the world and this was all part of her scheme. But somehow even _I_ doubted it.

The silence was becoming stifling, and I frantically fished through my mind for a way to start conversation, or at least break this tense atmosphere. Should I ask him what his purpose was? But if I straight out asked 'why are you here' would it sound rude? Should I try to ask him about the school then? Just as a starting point for the rest of the conversation to unfold?

I was practically swimming in my confusion and thoughts, and I glanced up at him. He was also thinking, and his jaw was working as if he was trying to force out words.

Suddenly, there was a loud clunk and a squawking noise, and both of our heads snapped to look at the window beside my bed. A very fat pigeon had just flown straight into the glass, and was now slowly sliding down, leaving a trail of what looked like bird crap in its wake. Right before it completely slipped out of sight, it squawked again and seemingly unstuck itself from the window, flapping its wings and flying away in a very squiggly path, obviously dazed.

I stared at the trail left behind, my mouth open in surprise. Slowly, I turned to look at Mizuki, who was also staring at the window, his eyes a bit wider than normal and a bemused look on his face.

He turned his head slightly to meet my gaze and for a moment we stared at each other, both in shock over what had just occurred.

Then, Mizuki's lips twitched and my mouth began curving into an open smile.

Then I snorted softly, and before I knew it, we were laughing.

Not just me, but Mizuki as well. It was odd hearing him laughing without scorn behind it, but I decided that it was better this way. At least it proved he could have human emotions that weren't towards the dark-and-cookie-filled side of the spectrum.

"Well..." Mizuki stared, clearing this throat after he'd calmed his laughter. "...That was unexpected."

I nodded, still chuckling. The awkward air had lightened, but not entirely left. After all, there was still the question as to what he wanted.

Clearing my throat, I looked over at him hesitantly. "Uh...sir?" He looked over at me in acknowledgment, and I weakly continued. "Why are you here, exactly?" I asked slowly and as politely as I could muster.

Mizuki's lips thinned out and he straightened in his chair. "Right...that." he said, coughing into his hand. "Uzumaki...I know that I haven't exactly been the nicest person to you..." he started.

I glanced away, the words 'no shit Sherlock' on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. However, it seemed Mizuki could sense them, since he sighed irritably.

"Okay, so I was a complete asshole that probably gave you nightmares depicting me as a fire breathing dragon that ate little girls and boys for breakfast. I get it." He said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. I stared over at him in surprise.

How did he know about the nightmares I'd had when I'd first been placed into his class?

"Uh..." I said intelligently, and Mizuki's smirk held its old shadow of mocking qualities.

"Look here, kid. Basically, I'm admitting that yes, I was a complete jerk and I picked on you. And that was wrong of me. Very wrong of me in fact." He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. "So...I guess to put it simply, I'm here to apologize for my behaviour. It was unjust, unfair and undoubtedly made your life a whole lot harder than it already is." He said quickly, keeping eye contact with me.

I gaped at him, my eyes slowly drying with how wide they were. Mizuki stared back, his face blank and his hands clasped together.

I couldn't believe it. Mizuki, the man who made my school life a living hell with the help of the students was here, apologizing for doing just that.

It was like I'd been shoved into some weird alternate universe where everything was opposite. Including Mizuki.

My mouth opened and closed a few times as I tried vainly to come up with something to say before I finally forced out a weak and hesitant "Thanks?"

Mizuki nodded curtly. "Good. Now then, I should probably be going. I heard you were being released from the hospital today, right?" he asked, standing and brushing off his pants.

I blinked rapidly, thrown off course by the abrupt announcement of his departure and the random question. Struggling to get my mind to catch up with the situation, I replied slowly.

"That's right. Sasuke...Sasuke and his family are coming to pick me up, and I'll be staying with them for a while."

Mizuki stared at me, his face looking slightly amused before he sighed and shook his head.

"If Uchiha is coming to fetch you, then I'd better hurry up and leave." He said. I tilted my head in confusion, and Mizuki caught the action. He smirked. "You're _boyfriend_ is the over-protective type after all. And since he has already told me he has a nice metal bat reserved just for me, I'd like to prolong my ability to walk, talk and reproduce a little bit longer." He said.

My cheeks heated up when he said the word 'boyfriend' so knowingly, but the rest of his sentence made me blink in surprise.

"Wait...Sasuke's threatened you?" I asked in shock. I hadn't expected him to do that to anyone...

Mizuki shook his head, still smirking. "Not exactly. It was more of a threat veiled by a friendly warning." He shrugged and looked towards the door. "I should go now." He said again.

I nodded dumbly, still confused over the fact that he had apologized for everything he'd done and that he'd seemed to have a sense of humour.

The world was coming to an end, I just knew it.

"S-sensei?" I asked quietly. He looked back at me, nodding for me to go on. I glanced down at my lap before making shy eye contact with him. "Why exactly...did you hate me so much?"

He stilled, his face gaining a dark shadow to it. Something like a memory was flashing in his eyes, and I felt myself tense up, a sudden alarm going off in my mind.

"That...You..." he sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. He bit his lip, looking at the floor for a long time before looking up. "You...kind of remind me of him." He said slowly.

I cocked my head to the side in question. "'Him'?"

"My...my big brother." Mizuki said slowly.

"You have a brother?"

"...Had...I had a brother."

Something in my stomach dropped, and I curled my hands into fists. "Oh...I'm...I'm sorry." I said softly.

Mizuki's head snapped up at the last two words, and pain and regret was evident on his face. He looked as if he was on the verge of shattering into millions of little Mizuki-pieces.

"...I...I really _was_ unfair to you all those times." He said, his voice seeming weaker and he stepped back, collapsing into the chair he'd been sitting in before. "I just...couldn't see past it." He muttered, placing his head in his hands.

I watched in, feeling completely lost. "What are you talking about?"

He chuckled, the sound soft and empty. "Figures...no one's told you about it." He whispered, but before I could question, he looked up. "My brother was similar to you in several ways. He was loud, brash, annoying," I scowled and Mizuki's lips twitched briefly, "outgoing and always acting cheerful and obscenely happy. And then...one day he was just gone."

I swallowed, my shoulders sagging a bit. I hadn't ever imagined that Mizuki had gone through something like that.

"I guess...in some ways, you reminded me of him so much it hurt to see you every day. It hurt to see a replica of him alive and well when he was...gone." Mizuki groaned, rubbing his face. "It's so stupid, now that I think of it clearly. You don't look like him, except for your hair. He dyed his hair blond at one point. But other than that only your personalities have some similarities. And even then it's very vague."

I listened to him talking, shocked at how his voice was growing more broken, the tone slowly descending into something that might...might just be called self-loathing.

"I was so naive and spiteful. I blamed...I blamed you for his death. Like all the others, I placed blame on you because you were the living reminder of it all."

I snapped my head back. "Wait, sir! I'm...I'm confused. What am I a living reminder of? Why do people blame me? What do they blame me for?" I asked, my voice strained with the need to know.

Mizuki knew why people treated me the way they did. Of course he knew, he had been one of those people up until now. So perhaps...perhaps now I would find out...

Mizuki looked up at me, and a small, sad smile curved his face. "That's...that's something for someone else to tell you." He said softly.

I hissed, ripping the blankets away and shooting to my feet. "That's bullshit!" I said loudly, and Mizuki leant back in surprise. "Someone else to tell me? No one ever tells me! I've asked over and over why I'm so fucking hated, but nobody ever says anything! Don't I have the right to know why people despise me when I haven't done anything wrong!.?" I finished, my voice loud enough to alert the nurses outside if there were any.

Mizuki also stood up. "Uzumaki, I get that you're upset. You're right, you do have every right to know why people treat you this way. What I meant was that you shouldn't hear it from me. I'm not someone close to you, in fact you hate me, don't you?" he asked earnestly.

I bit my lip, glaring at the ground. "...I did...I'm not sure now. You have apologized. And I don't really...I don't see the point of holding a grudge, really." I mumbled.

Mizuki let out a soft laugh, more like a huff of air than anything. "Well, that's nice to know. But either way, you shouldn't hear the story from me. It would be better...easier...if you heard it from your friends and loved ones." He said.

"But they don't know! I asked them all before! Sasuke doesn't know, Sakura-chan doesn't know and neither do Kiba or Shikamaru! Tsunade won't talk; Jiraiya and Iruka just change the subject! They won't tell me!" I said, ignoring the desperate quality to my voice. I just wanted to know the truth.

Why wouldn't anyone tell me the truth?

"Uchiha does know." Mizuki said bluntly.

I froze, my heart missing a beat or two while my blood flow reversed for a moment. Mizuki stood in front of me, his hands shoved in his pockets now.

"W-what?"

"Uchiha does know. He admitted to knowing yesterday at school when I spoke to him about it." Mizuki elaborated.

Sasuke knew? Sasuke had...known all this time and he hadn't said a word?

...

Why?

Why hadn't he told me, even when I'd asked? Had he been lying to my face all those times he said he didn't know?

A dark pit was forming in my chest, the sinking feelings of despair and betrayal sliding into it like liquid darkness. My face must have shown some of my emotions, because Mizuki looked perturbed and nervous.

"Well, he said he knew. Perhaps he...only found out the story yesterday or something." He said quickly, pulling one hand out of his pocket to wave it beseechingly in the air.

"He still didn't tell me." I whispered, and even I was surprised at the anger lacing my words.

Mizuki looked uncomfortable. "Well...I'm sure he had his reasons for not telling you. Perhaps he didn't want you to hear about it right after...what happened at that school." He tried.

I blinked, some of the anger dissipating at this new take on the situation. It did sound like something that Sasuke...no, that anyone would do. If the story was something traumatic, or depressing, then of course he wouldn't want to tell me when I was freaking out over the Kabuto-incident.

Groaning in frustration, I ran my hands through my hair before gripping it tightly, yanking on the strands of blond. My eyes closed tightly as I struggled to reason with myself and fight back those unwelcomed feelings of betrayal. Sasuke wouldn't hurt me intentionally. Well not when it came to something like this.

Mizuki cleared his throat awkwardly. "Either way, I think it would be best if you heard the whole story from him or his family. You're close to them so it'll be easier to listen and there'll be people to explain anything you don't understand." He said with a quiet voice. I nodded slowly, my eyes still shut, and I heard his footsteps before the door rattled open.

"Good to see you, Uzumaki." He said, and I nodded once again. I expected to hear the door close, but instead I heard what sounded like a suppressed laugh. Blinking open my eyes, I saw Mizuki leaning against the doorframe, looking at something in the hall. "Well...that's an attractive addition." He drawled sarcastically.

"Huh?" I asked and Mizuki smirked over his shoulder at me.

"Nothing...I'd better go. Uchiha looks ready to kill the first thing that blinks in his direction, so I'd rather not be in his line of sight." He said, and gave a cocky salute before stepping out the door and closing it.

I sucked in a breath when I realized what he'd said. It seemed the Uchiha's were here at last.

I heard the door click, and tensed, staring at it fiercely.

I was done waiting.

I wanted the truth and I wanted it now.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I rubbed at the bandage placed over my nose, which my mother had insisted I put there for some unknown reason, and sighed. I could only imagine what sort of teasing Naruto would lay on me for it, but if I took it off, my mother would just slap another one on.

We were walking towards his room now, and I watched the hall ahead, seeing his door far off. It suddenly slid open, and someone stepped out. I was too far to see clearly but it looked like a...girl? No, that wasn't right; they were big for a girl.

I frowned, squinting.

... 'It was a buff granny', was the conclusion I came too, since all I could see was silver hair and buff-ness.

I didn't think it was a guy.

The Buff Granny looked in our direction before looking back into Naruto's room briefly. Soon she stepped out and closed the door, walking the opposite way quickly as we neared.

I brushed the person from my mind, focusing instead on opening Naruto's door, ready to take him home. I anticipated his excitement, his slight nervousness, his gratitude maybe.

I did not anticipate the cold stare that met me when I stepped through the door.

Naruto was sitting on the bed, his hands clenched in the sheets and his eyes hard, staring right at me. I stopped in the doorway, feeling wave after wave of barely suppressed anger and hesitance that was emitting from my blond boyfriend.

"...Naruto?"

Something in his blue eyes flashed, and the anger seemed to dull, but didn't extinguish. I stepped into the room quickly, my family following behind me. Judging by their silence and their faces, they could sense something was wrong as much as I could.

Naruto turned his gaze to his hands, clenching and unclenching them.

Worried that perhaps he was having more hallucinations, or nightmares, I quickly walked up to his side and sat down, one hand rubbing over his arm in what I hoped was a soothing motion.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" I asked, trying to get him to look at me again, but he kept his gaze firmly on his hands, his blond fringe falling over the crystalline blue irises.

I glanced at my mother and father, and both were looking at Naruto in concern. Itachi was looking back towards the door, his gaze calculating. I wondered if he was considering calling a nurse or chasing after the Buff Granny to demand what was going on.

"Naru-"

"You know."

It was said so quickly, and so blankly I almost thought that a T.V or radio programmed voice had said it randomly, but I had seen Naruto's lips move. I paused, staring at him in confusion.

"I know what?"

I felt his muscles tense, and immediately I knew I'd said the wrong thing somehow. But I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Don't lie. You do know. You've known for a while at least." Naruto accused.

I frowned, not liking this situation in the slightest.

"Dobe, what are you talking about?" I asked, my tone a bit more snappish than before. I saw my mother send me a reprimanding glance, and tried to relax my mind. "Tell me what's wrong." I asked again, softly.

Naruto hunched his shoulders, and I leant back. He was about to have an outburst, I could tell and I braced myself for whatever he was planning to yell.

"You didn't tell me! You kept it from me! You lied to me you bastard!"

At the last sentence my eyes widened and I gaped at the shaking blond. Where had that come from? What was he even talking about?

"Naruto, what the hell are you talking about? I never lied to you-"

"You knew about my past and you never told me!"

A deathly hush fell over the room, and every single onyx eye was focused on Naruto, including my own. He was still staring at the sheets, his hands twisting them while his shoulders shook.

I stared at him in shock. How had he known that I, well, knew?

But at the same time... he couldn't know too much. He had the impression that I'd known all along, but I'd only known since Monday. A total of four days today.

I struggled to find my voice after his outburst. I needed to make it okay again, make him realize. I needed to say sorry too.

"Naruto...I'm sorry. I do know...but I swear to you, I've only known since...since Monday." I said slowly. Naruto snapped his head up to glare at me.

"Why didn't you tell me then?"

"Naruto, think about it! You were unconscious for most of Monday, I couldn't get here on Tuesday, and yesterday you were suffering from hallucinations and panicking! How could I tell you when there was a high chance it'd just make you feel even worse!" I said quickly, reaching out and gripping his shoulders, shaking him lightly when he tried to turn away.

"B-But...dammit, you knew how much I wanted to know. You could've...you could've said something!" He grit out, his eyes shining with anger and sadness.

I looked down, feeling regret at having caused him to become so upset. I hadn't kept it from him with the intention to hurt him. The complete opposite in fact.

Damn you Murphy.

"Naruto...I'm sorry. I really am. I never meant to upset you." I said softly, scooting closer. Naruto pressed his lips together, closing his eyes. He seemed to be struggling with something, and I waited, tense and anxious. After what seemed much too long to me, he sighed explosively.

"I know...I know you didn't. Dammit...I just..." he looked up, eyes set and determined. "I want to know the truth Sasuke. I want you to tell me."

I swallowed and glanced at my family. My mother was looking at me with gentle eyes, support clear in her face. I looked over at my father imploringly and he nodded. My eye twitched.

That nod translated as 'Tough shit boy, you're on your own!'

Turning back to Naruto, I rubbed his arms gently and sighed.

"Alright Naruto. I'll tell you. But let's first get you out of here and settled. I promise I'll tell you tonight."

* * *

**Oh Teh Noes! D:**

**Haha, not really...**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter...OH OH OH! EVERYONE!...in case you haven't seen, I wrote a side-fic one-shot for Online! with the Uchiha family. It's pretty short, and pointless but it's good for a laugh! If you haven't seen it, feel free to go to my stories and click on it. It won't be hard to find...there's a big ONLINE! SIDEFIC in the title. -_-''**

**Enjoy! **

**Reviews are soooo cool, and everyone-**

**Kao: *holds up bat***

**Juura: *points to readers and makes slicing motion at neck***

**Kao: That's not FAIR!  
**


	28. Chapter 28

**Important: Quite a few people reviewed the last chapter, wondering if Naruto's past would be revealed in this chapter...and it made me wonder if some of my readers are forgetful, didn't read, or didn't receive the notification for chapter 24... Everyone, if you don't know the story of Naruto's past, re-read chapter 24...because it's all explained there! **

**Happy Re-capping!**

**Q_Q I cried writing the last bit of this chapter...I really and honestly did. 'Why?' You ask? Simple...that scene is a sad scene, and therefore, to make it (hopefully) naturally sad to you all, I listened to sad songs, and watched depressing vids until I myself was feeling completely sad and emotional and crying and then I sat and wrote that scene...I hope you feel the same emotions I did...else I'd have been sad for nothing. T_T**

**The songs I listened to were... ALL of the sad soundtracks on the Naruto Shippuden and Naruto soundtrack...and also, one song with lyrics which really made me cry was the song 'Who Am I to Say?' by Hope...God, that song makes me cry everytime I hear it... So yeah...**

**This entire chapter is in Naruto's POV.**

**Thank you for all the reviews, I'm so glad you're enjoying this story, but it's not over yet!...quite far from it, actually... **

**Online!  
**

**

* * *

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I sat in the backseat of the Uchiha car, my knees curled up to my chest and my arms wrapped around them. My shoulder was pressed against the window and I let my head rest on my knees to, staring stubbornly at my toes instead of the buildings whizzing past. Sasuke was seated next to me, but I wasn't touching him or him me. His hands were clasped in his lap, but he occasionally reached up to prod and rub at the bandage across his nose. Even though his head was facing forwards, I still saw the glances he sent me, but I ignore him.

It may have been a tad mean, but I was still angry with him. I felt like he'd lied to me by not telling me he knew the truth the moment we could exchange coherent words on Monday. Even if he had kept it from me because I was in hospital and didn't need the extra stress...I'd been begging to know the truth for years and now someone close to me, my own fucking boyfriend, knew and he didn't tell me.

It was annoying. It hurt. And I was going to stay angry until he'd told me the story.

Plus it was kind of amusing to watch him squirm.

Oh yes, I am evil. But after everything that I've been through, I think I have the right to take on the role of the villain for once.

Sitting beside Sasuke was Itachi, wearing his usual stoic 'I-can-kill-you-with-a-single-thought-for-I-am-Darth-Vader' face. I kept an ear open for the heavy, electronic breathing to start any minute. Mikoto was sitting in the front seat, her worried gaze washing over me every now and then much like Sasuke's '_secret'_ glances. Fugaku just kept his eyes on the road the entire time, and I would've almost believed he'd forgotten I was even there if it weren't for his glancing at me in the rear-view mirror at a stop sign.

There was silence in the car as we drove onwards towards the Uchiha house, and I wasn't sure if the silence was tense or awkward. Either way it was there and it wasn't looking to go away anytime soon.

Sasuke was rigid in the seat beside me, almost as if he was made of stone despite the occasional movement of his arm or his eyes. Itachi turned his gaze out the window next to him, one palm pressing against his mouth as his elbow rested against the door. His other arm moved slowly upwards until his hand was level with Sasuke's face. I was watching out of the corner of my eye, wondering what the devil had planned.

Sasuke seemed to notice the movement too, since he tilted his head towards Itachi and I imagined him curving one of his eyebrows like he usually did.

"What're you-" Whatever Sasuke was going to ask was cut off when Itachi pressed his palm flat against his face and shoved. I gasped in surprise while Sasuke grunted as he fell backwards in his seat, his head landing against my stomach while his hands shot out to grab at the top of the seat for balance.

"Ouch! What the hell Itachi?.!" Sasuke snarled, one hand reaching up to cover his bandaged nose gingerly. I stared over at Itachi while Mikoto twisted her head around to look at us.

"What's going on? Itachi, why did you push your brother?" she asked, frowning.

Without even taking his eyes off the window, Itachi smirked under his palm.

"He was invading my breathing space." He said nonchalantly.

Sasuke growled, trying to claw his way upright again. "Oh, you won't need your precious 'breathing space' when I'm through with you!" He snarled, hands already twitching towards Itachi's neck.

"Boys, come on. Is this really the time for this?" Mikoto sighed, reaching one hand up to rub at her temple in annoyance. "We're almost home. You two can play around with the paintball guns in the garden again**(1)**, or something if you want, but for now we need to get Naruto-kun nice and settled." She smiled at me and I couldn't help but offer a small one back.

I knew that Mikoto and Fugaku and Itachi also knew the truth, but I couldn't be mad at Mikoto. She was just too sweet. Itachi I could be mad at, but I'd be a cooked turkey before I tried to get him angry. Prankster Itachi was bad enough; I didn't even want to imagine him coming at me in anger.

And Fugaku...well, Itachi is his spawn which means he must be even worse. I did not want to even think about making him mad at me because the outcome would most likely be a slow and torturous death.

Beside me, Sasuke nodded reluctantly, and sat himself upright. However, he sat closer to me than to Itachi and I let him. I wouldn't want to invade Itachi's breathing space again.

The car grew silent once more, and Sasuke was sitting as rigid as a board once again. I furrowed my brows in annoyance as we neared the more suburban areas. When Sasuke sat like that, it was literally like sitting next to a large, teetering block of stone, or a log or something. No wonder Itachi grew tired of it.

"Teme." I mumbled into my knees, and Sasuke's head snapped around to look at me. I barely concealed a smirk. Sasuke could be kind of cute when he was nervous. "Would you like me to remove that tree trunk from your butt for you?" I asked, raising my eyebrow in mock question.

Sasuke blinked before scowling and crossing his arms. He slumped in his seat, staring ahead with a grumpy expression.

"I do not have a tree trunk up my butt." He growled.

"A Roman Column then." I supplied and Sasuke sent me a dark glare. But I could see the slight relief in his eyes, and immediately I turned away. If I saw him looking relieved, my resolve would crumble.

I was such a softie, but I couldn't afford that now. Not when I was so close to finding out the truth at last. I couldn't let Sasuke relax until I'd gotten every last bit of information out of him.

It was the sudden jerking of the car that alerted me to the fact we'd arrived at the Uchiha house. I looked through the window at the two story house and a sense of comfort and security washed over me. This place felt...like home.

Fugaku stepped out of the car, Mikoto following as well as Itachi. The oldest Uchiha turned to look at me through the glass, and offered that trademark smirk.

"If you're expecting me to open the door for you, you're in for a disappointing time." Fugaku said before turning. "Itachi, get his things from the trunk."

Through the window, I saw Itachi raise one of his delicately plucked eyebrows.

"If you're expecting me to play bellhop for him, you're in for a disappointing ti-"

"Get the bag, or eat _my_ cooking. You're choice, son." Fugaku cut in smoothly.

Itachi didn't say a word as he opened the trunk and grabbed the bag with the few supplies I had before making his way to the house, a smirking Fugaku following behind.

Mikoto waited for me to get out before placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her while Sasuke climbed out of the car, and blinked at the sadness swirling in her eyes.

"Naruto-kun...I understand you are anxious to know about what happened in the past..." she said softly so that only I could hear. "But I just want you to know...no matter what you may think...She loved you very much. They both did."

Without another word, she leant over and kissed my forehead before swiftly walking towards the house.

I stared after her, confused. What was she talking about? 'She loved you very much?' Who?

My hand came up to rub at the spot she'd kissed, and I stared ahead blankly, trying to decipher what she was talking about. A hesitant touch to my shoulder made me look around at Sasuke, who stood waiting for me to walk.

"We should go inside and get you settled." He said slowly. I nodded and we walked towards the front door. Sasuke kept his hand on my shoulder.

I decided to let him.

* * *

The Uchiha house was just like I remembered it, the walls and hallways the same as well as every room. Of course it hadn't been too long since I'd stepped foot inside, but I guess I had just somehow expected it to change a bit.

I guess I guessed wrong.

I followed Sasuke down the hall and up the stairs. Itachi was on his way down, obviously having dropped off my bag. As he passed us on the stares, he paused and turned to us.

Sasuke and I looked at him carefully, wondering what he had planned. I sincerely hoped he wasn't planning on pushing us down the stairs. I just got _out_ of hospital, thank you very much.

Itachi smirked and reached both his arms up. In a move that was way too fast to be human, he reached out and flicked us both on the forehead, right between our eyes. I pressed my fingers to the spot, feeling the tingle of the hit, and just stared at him. His sanity was now officially under question.

Sasuke snarled, slapping Itachi's hand away. "Dammit, we're not five you know." He muttered. Itachi's smirk never left his face as he continued down the stairs.

"Oh, and Naruto-kun?"

I looked down at him to see the serious look in his eyes, despite the teasing smirk on his lips.

I swear, only an Uchiha could pull that off.

"...Yes?"

"If my foolish little brother fails to explain things clearly, you may come to any of us, and we will answer your questions to the best of our abilities." Itachi said, blatantly ignoring Sasuke's mutters of where Itachi could shove a large, prickly object.

I nodded slowly, and smiled. "Yeah. Thanks." I muttered before turning and following my grumbling boyfriend up the stairs.

We walked down the hall, and I was surprised when we passed Sasuke's bedroom instead of stopping.

"I'm not staying in your room?" I asked. Sasuke looked over his shoulder, smirking slightly.

"No, sadly not. My father thought it would be...inappropriate." he said, his tone as suggestive as those condom ads you see on T.V.

I stared at him blankly, letting him know I was not in the mood for that sort of talk or jokes, and his smirk faltered before he sighed.

"Naruto...I know you want to know about your past...and I understand that you're upset with me...but..." he hesitated, stopping outside a door one door away from his own. "..I really didn't want to hurt you." He finished, looking at me steadily. His eyes were pleading and regretful, and I could practically see flowers sprouting around him.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair, wincing when I touched a bump from the incident.

"I know, Sasuke. I know you didn't do it to hurt me, but it did. I've wanted to know the truth for so long. And it's not just a little secret. It's the reason behind why I've been hated and despised by everyone." I stared right into his eyes. "Isn't that right?"

He swallowed, nodding. "Yeah...It's...It's so fucking stupid if you ask me." He grit out, clenching the door handle.

I walked up beside him, placing my hand on top of his. "I just want to know. I want to finally know what it is. Because maybe...maybe then I can actually do something to change it." I whispered, my eyes trained on our hands.

I heard Sasuke's intake of breath beside me, before his other arm came up and wrapped around my shoulders. I kept my eyes down even as I felt him place a soft kiss to my temple. His actions only made me wonder what the story was even more. Why were his arms shaking slightly after my words? And why did that kiss feel like a...reassurance?

"...I understand." Sasuke said, and he pushed the door open.

The room was pretty simple, with white walls and a pale blue carpet. There was a double bed with ocean blue sheets by the window, two oak-wood side tables beside it. A chest of drawers was in one corner, and there were several books stacked on top of it neatly. My bag was sitting at the foot of the bed.

But what caught my eye the most was the plush toy sitting innocently on the bed. It was a cuddly looking fox holding a small, white, star-shaped object with a pink swirl on the middle.

"...Is that fox eating..._me_?" I inquired, tilting my head. Sasuke frowned, looking down at the thing.

"I'm not sure what that's doing there. I haven't seen it before." He said slowly.

There was a light rap behind us, and I jumped, turning around to see Mikoto leaning against the door frame. Her presence wouldn't have concerned me if it weren't for that sad smile on her face as she looked at me.

"I put that there. It's a gift for Naruto-kun." She explained, her voice soft. I blinked and turned back to the toy. I walked over and sat down on the bed, picking it up. It was incredibly soft, and I could easily picture hugging it in my sleep, since it was so cuddly. I smiled down at it, running my finger over its snout. It was only then that I realized it looked quite old. Although it was clean, the colour was faded slightly, and the edges were a bit to ruffed to be new. However, the eyes looked as if they'd been sewn on yesterday.

And they were blue.

"It's quite old." Mikoto whispered, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. Both she and Sasuke sat down on the bed with me, Sasuke listening to his mother and Mikoto looking at me intently. "It belonged to a dear friend of mine a long time ago." She added.

I felt Sasuke tense up, and looked over at them both suspiciously. "Thank you Mikoto, but...if it belonged to a dear friend, why are you giving it to me? Surely you'd like to keep it as a memento?" I asked.

Mikoto's smile grew even sadder, and I felt my chest clenching in warning.

"Ah well...I've got enough memento's of her...and I know that she'd want you to have this."

Now I was very apprehensive, especially since with each word Mikoto spoke, Sasuke grew more and more tense and her eyes looked more and more ready to leak tears.

"...What is going on?" I whispered, alarms going off in my mind that this was big.

This was the moment of truth, so to speak.

Sasuke sighed. "Mother...are you going to stay?" he asked quietly.

Mikoto laid her hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Yes. I think it is best one of us is here with you, don't you agree?" she answered, her gaze never leaving mine. Sasuke nodded, turning to look at me.

I felt my hands clench tighter around the fox, and it was becoming harder and harder to hold their gazes.

Sasuke moved closer until he was sitting to my right, in full view of my face. Mikoto sat right in front of me, her long legs crossed like a girl at a sleepover. But I knew this was far from something so enjoyable.

A voice in my head was screaming that I mustn't listen. That I must just go on without knowing the truth. That it would be easier.

But I'd wanted this for so long, I couldn't back out now.

It was time.

* * *

"Naruto...I suppose...the best place to start is..." Sasuke looked around the room, as though the best place to start would magically be written on the walls. I waited, tense and anxious, but paitently.

After a few minutes of Sasuke struggling to find the place to begin, Mikoto sighed.

"It begins with your parents." She supplied softly.

My heart froze along with my body and my eyes stretched to inhuman size.

"M-my...p-parents?" I stammered. A familiar feeling of sadness sliced at my insides at the mention of them. At the mention of people I'd never gotten the chance to know...

"Yes. We knew them, Naruto-kun. Fugaku was your father's best friend, and I...I was best friends with your mother." Mikoto said sadly, her eyes locking onto the plush toy in my hands.

My entire body felt cold as I turned my gaze to the innocent toy, looking up at me with those glass blue eyes.

This toy...

"T-this...belonged to m-my m-mother?" I stammered, staring at the thing. My hands were shaking even as I caressed the soft fur.

"Yes. It was one of her favourite toys when we were younger, and she had planned..." Mikoto took a breath. "She had planned to give it to you on your fifth birthday. She left it with me for safekeeping...and she wanted me to sew on new eyes. She...wanted me to sew eyes the same colour as her baby boy's."

The...new eyes. The sky blue eyes on the toy.

I saw the teardrop darken the fabric fur before I heard the shaky breath flow out of my mouth. My shoulders were shaking with repressed sobs, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the toy.

This had belonged to my mother. This was something real, something she touched. Something she cherished.

Something she gave to me.

"W...What was her name?" I asked, feeling more tears leak down my face.

It was Sasuke's voice that answered, his tone quiet and filled with more emotion than I'd ever heard.

"Her name...was Uzumaki Kushina."

Uzumaki Kushina.

My mother.

I clutched the toy closer, biting my lip to hold back the sobs. The part of me that had, for so long, wanted proof that I even had a mother...that I had someone to call that...was breaking down.

My mother, Kushina.

Sasuke's arms were around me, but I couldn't feel them. All I could feel was the small object in my arms, and the pain in my heart.

"W-what happened to her? A-and my f-father? Where are t-they?" I stuttered.

Sasuke made a pained noise, and I found it so hard to look at him. When I did, I wished I hadn't. The look on his face...it physically hurt.

"Naruto...I'm sorry...but they're...gone. They died... a long time ago." He forced out, his voice weak.

I had always known, really. I had always figured that they were dead. I'm sure Tsunade and Jiraiya had even told me, but...there had always been a tiny, tiny hope that they were wrong.

I had hoped that there were parents out there for me to find.

But now...now I knew it was definite.

And it hurt.

Breathing was so hard right now, and I tried to control the tears, but they kept coming.

"H-How?" the question was whispered, but I felt Sasuke tense; I saw Mikoto bite her painted lips. I felt my heart shatter a bit more.

"It was...a horrible accident." Mikoto said. "Kushina...she...she made a mistake."

Sasuke tightened his hold on me, and I didn't even bother asking. He would have to tell me, and I would have to listen. I clutched the toy tighter.

"Naru...You're mother and father had been out of Konoha for three years, following your dad's work. He was a motivational speaker." Sasuke added, a weak attempt at a humour in his tone. I sniffed in response.

"W-what was his name?"

"Namikaze Minato." Sasuke replied gently. I nodded, running the name over my tongue.

The name of my father.

"You know, you look just like him." Mikoto said with a watery smile. "Expect for the shape of your eyes. Minato's eyes were quite narrow, but you've got Kushina's wide puppy eyes." She said.

I gave a feeble laugh, reaching up to rub at my eyes. Tears smeared across my hand, and I leant closer to Sasuke, trying to find comfort in his warmth.

"But anyway...They'd been away from Konoha. However, they called my parent's to say that they would be coming back soon. They took a train home. You were three at the time." Sasuke continued. "I...I don't really know the details, since I obviously wasn't there...but it seems Kushina went a bit...crazy."

I stiffened, fingers digging into the toy in my hands. "What do you mean 'crazy'?" I asked darkly.

Mikoto sighed. "Naruto...this is going to be hard to swallow. It's hard to say." She took a deep breath, bracing herself. "...Kushina had a drug addiction. To heroin and others...maybe many others. We can't know for sure. But she was addicted, and it was so bad."

I felt empty, hollow. My mother had been a drug addict?

"Apparently, she had run out of her supply during the train ride. When they were nearing Konoha station, she...she freaked out because she didn't have any and she was desperately craving the next fix. She grabbed you...and she rampaged through the train."

What was this feeling? This level of pain?

"Minato...your dad tried to stop her, but she just kept going. When they arrived at the station, everyone was running off the train to get away from her. She...she assaulted one of the guards and took his gun."

That distant sound in the back of my mind...what was it? It sounded like...waves crashing ashore?

No...

That wasn't it.

"Everyone in the station...they started panicking, of course. Everyone was running away, and it was chaos. People got hurt and Kushina ran outside. Minato followed her."

It wasn't the sound of waves...

It was the sound of a crowd, screaming.

My eyes had closed as Sasuke continued to tell the story, and now...now I could see something. Something that I'd long ago forgotten.

Something that I'd long ago buried under the guise of strange nightmares.

Screaming crowds and chaos everywhere. Faces filled with fear flashing past, and so much screaming.

And through it all, the feeling of being held to a warm chest.

"Kushina got on a bus, and hijacked it, holding the gun to the driver and ordering him to drive her to a certain place. We...we think it might be a place she could get more of her drugs."

A vision of a woman...with long red hair.

"Minato managed to get on the bus and tried to talk to her, but she was just so far gone."

A deep, fearful voice talking quickly while gentle hands tried to reach out. The arms clutching me closer to that warm chest, heaving with heavy breaths.

And through it all, the fear clawing at my chest, and the desire to get away.

"Minato...he tried to get the gun away from her. He tried to get you away from her." I barely felt Sasuke's shuddery breath. I barely felt anything. I was so lost in the sounds and flashes of memories in my mind.

I knew they were memories. Memories I'd buried so deep in my subconscious that they'd only managed to emerge in the form of vague nightmares.

"They fought...and in the end, Minato...was killed."

Blood.

I could see it.

Pained blue eyes, tears streaming down rapidly paling cheeks. And a voice, weak and soft to the screams around it carrying on.

"_I love you, Kushina. I love you Naruto...I always will._"

It hurt so much.

And I could remember.

The sobs of pure agony coming from the woman holding me.

"_Minato...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...Oh God, what have I done?_"

"At some point you'd managed to get away, and you crawled over to the bus driver, crying. Kushina turned around and saw you, and she ended up shooting the driver too."

"No...that's wrong." I whispered, my eyes still shut tightly.

I heard Sasuke and Mikoto make confused sounds, and slowly I opened my eyes, tears flowing down my cheeks. Mikoto had a few tear tracks as well, and Sasuke's eyes were filled with sadness.

"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked.

"I can...I can remember some of it now." I whispered, my voice sounding hoarse with tears and pain. I held the fox toy closer, my eyes unseeing of the people around me anymore.

"I wasn't dropped. After Mi..Dad was shot, Ku...Mom put me down. I crawled away to get away from the loud noises, and I went to the front of the bus. The driver...when he saw me by his feet, he got a fright. He accidentally kicked me, and I screamed. Mom...she turned around and saw me clutching at his leg and he was panicking. She stepped forwards..." I took a shuddery breath, the memories more painful than the death grip Sasuke now had on my shoulders. "I don't remember much other than seeing her running towards me and feeling the bus sliding and crashing. And then...then I was surrounded by warmth."

Mikoto had her hands over her mouth, tears streaming over her fingers. I knew I was no better. Breathing was hard, and the pain in my heart was excruciating. Sasuke was holding me tightly, but his warmth was nothing...nothing compared to the memory.

I lifted my head weakly, looking directly at Mikoto. "...I was in my mother's arms when she died...wasn't I?" I asked, my voice less than a whisper.

Her nod was so slow, it was almost invisible. Her hand shook as she pulled them away from her mouth.

"T-the bus had crashed into the station and c-caused an explosion. A lot of people died, but the search and rescue crew found K-Kushina and you under rubble...She was clutching you to her chest so tightly."

I closed my eyes, letting Sasuke hold me closer, and his lips pressing against my forehead.

"I understand what you meant before, Mikoto." I whispered and took a deep breath. "M-My mom did love me...they both did. R-right up to the e-end."

And then I broke down, held in the arms of Sasuke and Mikoto as I cried the tears I'd saved for my parents, for my past and for the truth.

* * *

***sitting in emo corner***

**Juura: WAAAAAAAH! *sobs***

**Kao: *pats her shoulder gently* there there sensei...It's alright...**

**Juura: *presses face into his chest* WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**

**Kao: =.='' oh dear... *turns head* LITTLE BRO! WE NEED RAMEN, POCKY, AND A WHOLE LOT OF PLUSHIES OVER HERE!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Sorry for the wait, but I had a bit of trouble with this chapter. I wrote the entire thing out...read over it...and hated it so I deleted the whole chapter and tried again...**

**I like this version loads better than the last one.**

**Warnings: some swearing, sadness, maybe OOC(AU, remember?)**

**Disclaimer: You just looooooove rubbing it in my face, dontcha?**

**P.S- I have an ambition...and that is...that by the end of this chapter... at least 9 of you will comment on how much you love my Mizuki. That is my ambition for this chapter. ( I wanted to say 99, but then I realized I might not have that many readers...so yeah, I'll stick with one 9 this time-and how'd ya like THAT RHYME!...hey! I did it again! I'm so awesome! XD ...lol, kidding.**

**Online!  
**

* * *

I wasn't sure if it was the subtle shifting around me, or simply my own mind that pulled me from sleep. I blinked slowly to clear my vision, and saw that it was still dark. However there was the tell tale sound of birds chirping, and I guessed it was getting close to sunrise.

A soft snore sounded, and there was more shifting. I looked up, and saw Sasuke's sleeping face, not too far from my own. One of his arms was slipped under his pillow, supporting his head. The other was held out, his fingers entwined with my own under the blankets.

After I'd broken down and cried, Sasuke and Mikoto comforting me as best they could, Sasuke had refused to let me sleep alone tonight. I hadn't argued or agreed, but secretly I was glad he had stayed. Although I didn't want to talk to anyone, that didn't mean I wanted to be alone entirely. His presence was a source of comfort, no matter how small compared to the pain in my chest.

I lowered my eyes down to the small space between us, seeing the keepsake from my mother resting there. The fox's glassy blue eyes stared back at me, the foxy grin as it chewed on the Naruto in its hands never wavering.

I felt the hot sting behind my eyes, but stubbornly refused to cry anymore. It wouldn't change anything.

My parents were gone.

My past was revealed to me after all this time, and I was left wondering about my future.

Now that I knew why people hated me, because I was a living reminder of a horrible incident and some of the blame was on me, I wondered what I could possibly do to change it. How could I make it right?

Sasuke had fiercely told me that I didn't need to make up for anything; that none of it was my fault. He'd almost yelled at me when I said I held some blame.

Mikoto had left shortly after that to tell the rest of the household about it and I'd simply wanted to crawl into bed and stay there for a long time. Sasuke had crawled in with me, not trying to strike up conversation, but simply being there for me. Like a warm shadow.

I shifted under the blankets, listening to the chirping birds. A strange feeling welled up in my chest, and I gently pried my fingers from Sasuke's grip. He frowned in his sleep, his hand weakly reaching out in search of mine.

With a quick glance I pushed the small fox into his grip, and he relaxed, his fingers squeezing the toy.

Satisfied he wouldn't sleep-stalk me; I edged backwards and climbed out of the bed. I didn't know why, but I had the urge to go outside and watch the sun rise. It was silly, and weird, I knew. I couldn't ever remember wanting to watch a sunrise.

But then again, I couldn't ever remember waking up this early. Plenty of times, I'd woken up late at night, or just passed midnight, but never so close to sunrise.

My socks muffled any noise I may have made as I padded down the hallway and down the stairs. I passed the living room, distractedly noting that someone had left a table lamp on, before I continued through to the kitchen and towards the back door.

When I stepped out onto the lawn, I looked left and right, wondering which way the sun was going to come up. The sky was already fading from midnight blue to a grey blue, and soon there would be streaks of pink and red across the sky before it lightened to the cheerful blue of daytime.

Stepping out further onto the lawn, I looked around, taking in the surroundings.

The Uchiha's had only one tree in their garden, and it was a short spruce of some kind I guessed. There were a few bushes and random flowers, littering the dark green grass with patches of blue, pink, yellow and white. I frowned and stepped further out into the garden, feeling the early morning dew squishing under my feet. I realized too late I should have taken my socks off before stepping outside, but they were already soaked.

Sighing, I once again looked around to try and see which direction the sun was rising from.

"It's over to the right."

I must have jumped a foot in the air, my inner frightened rabbit instincts kicking in as I scrambled over to the only tree in the garden and vainly tried to hide behind the trunk...which was about the same size as my left leg.

Looking towards the kitchen door, I saw Itachi leaning against the frame, his arms crossed and an amused smirk on his face. Feeling my heart slow to only mildly-above-average speed, I stepped out from my pathetic 'hiding place' and looked at him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked softly, even though no one was around. There was just something about the night that demanded silence.

Itachi's eyes flashed in amusement. "I live here, remember?" he countered. I frowned.

"I meant what are you doing here, outside? And this late-er, early?" I clarified.

Itachi stepped down onto the grass, and I noticed for the first time he was wearing a pair of black sweat pants and a grey vest. It was the most casual I'd ever seen him. His hair was still tied back in a low hanging pony tail, but there were a few strands loose around his face. He looked more relaxed and, dare I say, _human_.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said, looking down at me. I shifted my feet, looking at the ground.

"I...I wanted to see the sunrise." I mumbled, feeling embarrassed with myself. Itachi hummed.

"I know. That's why I said 'it's to the right'."

I turned to look at him, questioning but then the sky started lightening and I turned to the right. Sure enough, between houses I could see the edge of the sun rising. As the large, glowing light grew and climbed higher, and the world around me grew brighter, the strange sensation in my chest shifted.

It felt like something was clenching tighter, and I reached one hand up, clutching the spot over my heart. In the recesses of my mind, I could hear a soft voice from long ago, whispering into my ears.

"_See that Naru? One day, you're going to be just like that. You'll rise up and become a shining light, bringing warmth and joy to everyone around you. I know it."_

"Mom..." the word slipped out, nothing more than a whimper at the memory of those words.

"She enjoyed watching the sunrise. I have no doubt she took you to watch a few when you were younger." Itachi's voice said from beside me, his tone soft and understanding.

I sniffed, realizing that some of the tears from earlier had come back with a vengeance. Hastily wiping at my eyes, I blinked and continued to watch the sun grow.

"_That's my little sunshine."_

"Dad..."

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes just as the sunlight hit my face. Warmth spread out immediately from the touch, and my lips pulled up into a sad smile while my hands relaxed.

Itachi stood beside me, and I imagined him crossing his arms while the sun glared in his face and he glared right back.

We stood in silence while I wallowed in the vague and distant memories and Itachi stood beside me, like a silent sentry.

When the night had faded completely, and all was bright, Itachi sighed and reached over, placing his hand on my head and ruffling my hair. I would've laughed at the friendly gesture, except Itachi gripped my hair at the same time so it hurt.

I whined, reaching up and whacking at his hand. "Ouch! What the hell!.?" I growled, rubbing my abused sculp.

Itachi smirked. "Get your ass inside before I tell mother you stood on the wet grass with your socks." He said as he walked towards the kitchen door.

I paled, picturing Mikoto's worried mother reaction and not wanting to be suffocated as she held me to her bosom in her motherly-lecture way, I quickly followed after Itachi.

"P-please don't. Itachi? You won't right? Right?"

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

To say I was panicked when I woke up would be an understatement.

I saw the sunlight through my eyelids, and groaned, wishing I could block it out somehow. Deciding I could turn over to hide from the sun, I did just that, figuring I could just take Naruto's hand and let his arm lie over me. I wouldn't mind.

However, when I turned over and met no resistance from the hand holding mine, I admit my thoughts ran along the lines of '_holy shit I ripped his hand off!_'

Sitting up and frantically looking around, I noticed that the bed was empty, and I was clutching a small fox toy instead of a severed hand. Relief flooded me for a brief moment before realization pounced and humped my leg like a rabid chipmunk.

Naruto was missing.

"Shit!" I hissed, dropping the fox and scrambling from the bed. I glanced at the time and blanched at how early it was. The sun had just risen. Naruto would never get up this early for anything. I was sure he'd rather pee in the bed than bother removing himself to the bathroom.

I pulled open the door, and shot into the hall, looking from left to right for a sign of blond hair or tan skin, before making my way towards the closest door.

"Naru-oh wait." I paused, staring into the small storage cupboard. "Of course he won't be in there." I muttered, slamming the door and cursing myself for my early morning stupidity. I went to the next door and opened it, darting into my bedroom and looking all around. I even checked under my bed before once again it occurred to me that he wouldn't be there.

Jogging down the hall again, I came to another door and swung it open. My eyes caught only a brief picture before my brain screamed a warning and I yanked the door closed, staring in horror at the wall while my mind flashed the reason why I was _never_ supposed to just barge into _that_ room.

It was my parent's room.

And, according to Itachi, my parents were the '_morning intimacy_' types. Luckily I hadn't ever experienced proof, but Itachi was never the type to tremble and cry.

Well, on the day he told me that harsh rule, he was shivering and his eyes were watering.

Deciding not to dwell on what I may or may not have seen, I quickly continued down the hall, rubbing my eyes and pulling my thoughts away from dangerous waters and back onto the important things. Namely finding my lost blond boyfriend.

Down the stairs and down the hall, I kept my eyes open for any signs of him. The sun was getting higher and the rooms were brightening.

I'd checked every room I passed and still no sign of him. My panic level was slowly increasing until I reached the kitchen.

"P-please don't. Itachi? You won't, right? Right?"

Sighing, glad to know he was alive, I quickly walked into the kitchen, seeing Itachi by the counter and Naruto walking through the door. I raised an eyebrow when I noticed his socks were wet.

"Dobe, where've you been?" I demanded. Naruto jumped at my voice, having not seen me. He slipped a bit on the floor but regained his balance.

"Whoa! I...I didn't think you'd be up yet." He said, rubbing his head. I sighed.

"Well, I wouldn't be up if I didn't wake up to an empty bed." I scowled.

Itachi turned to look at me. "Do you realize how much you sounded like a bitter old husband just then?" he asked, smirking.

Both Naruto and I glared at him. "Just drink your coffee and wallow in hell like usual." I sneered. Itachi chuckled darkly, turning the kettle on.

"With that attitude, no wonder you haven't gotten laid yet." He muttered.

I growled at him while Naruto ran a hand over his face, his cheeks a bit red. I hoped my cheeks were faring better. Deciding that arguing with Itachi in the morning was not going to benefit anyone but Itachi, I stalked over and grabbed Naruto's hand, pulling him out of the kitchen.

"Now, now little brother. I didn't say that with the intention of you attempting to change that fact now." Itachi called.

"Shut up Itachi!" I snapped, dragging Naruto up the stairs.

We made it to his bedroom and once more climbed under the covers. Naruto scooted closer, the chill from outside catching up with him.

"Why were you outside?" I asked, rubbing his arms to get warmth back into them. He looked down, his eyes slightly glazed over.

"...I wanted to watch the sunrise." He mumbled. I raised an eyebrow in question, not having expected something like that. He looked up and elaborated. "My mother...she used to love watching them."

I grew silent, my hands absently continuing their rubbing while Naruto once more held onto the fox tightly. I wondered why all the memories of his past were only now resurfacing, but then again...what he went through could easily be considered a trauma. His mind would've blocked it out. And since no one had actually told him anything before now, he had no way to really associate the memories to reality.

"Hey Sasuke?" I looked down, seeing Naruto lying there clutching the toy from his mother. His eyes were wide, and I could see the remnants of tear tracks on his cheek as well as redness to the whites of his eyes. He looked so small and vulnerable right now, it made my chest ache.

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to school today?" he asked softly. I sighed and nodded. As much as I wanted to stay home and lie in bed with him, my father was having none of that. Even though he understood I wanted to spend time with Naruto, he insisted I keep going to school. I had no reason not to go, since it's not like Naruto would be alone and without comfort or help.

Damn him and his cool logic.

"Yes, I am."

Naruto nodded, scooting deeper under the blankets. His eyes began to drift shut and I found myself stroking his cheek.

"M'kay...just come back soon..." Naruto mumbled sleepily. I smirked, leaning over to kiss his head lightly.

"Don't miss me too much, moron." I snickered when he gave a sleepy grumble.

A light knock on the door made me look up as Itachi stuck his head in.

"It's time for you to get up and get ready, Sasuke. You don't want to be late lest Father punish you. Especially since you weren't supposed to spend the night in this bedroom." Itachi smirked at the end, and I growled.

"Go jump in the lake." I muttered angrily, climbing out of the bed and padding my way past him. He only chuckled and went on his way while I quickly got ready for school.

* * *

I arrived at the school, looking around warily. I was expecting to be ambushed by Kiba at any moment, undoubtedly with him going off about how I was going to rape Naruto or some crazy shit like that.

I was surprised he wasn't camped outside my house this morning, binoculars and cameo gear at the ready.

However, so far I'd been safe. Sure, I was sneaking around like an epic ninja, but I was still safe.

I was almost at homeroom class when there was a tap on my shoulder that had me going rigid.

"Sasuke, do I even want to know why you're sneaking around like a retarded shadow?"

I spun around, sighing in relief when I saw it was merely Shikamaru. Then I frowned.

"I was not sneaking around like a retarded shadow." I said, a bit insulted. Shikamaru sighed.

"Okay, a _pathetically_ retarded shadow then."

I wanted to smack him, but unfortunately a teacher walked past and saved his hide. I was planning on walloping him as soon as she was out of sight but of course the genius goes first.

"So what happened? You look drained and upset."

I paused, blinking at him. "What do you mean?"

"You've got rings under your eyes, your posture shows weariness and exhaustion, plus you were imitating a _pathetically retarded shadow_...something happened yesterday afternoon that's put you on a very gloomy edge." Shikamaru explained; his voice as bored and monotone as ever. Seriously, it's like the voice tone function had short circuited in him and left him with one setting.

I sighed, wiping a hand over my face and leaning back against the wall. My arms folded over my chest and I stared at the ground, replaying yesterday's events in my mind.

"...I told Naruto about his past." I mumbled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shikamaru's eyes widen.

"...You told him?"

"Yes... Well, he kind of demanded I tell him. He somehow knew I knew and he wanted to know so he knew I'd tell him I knew if I knew that he knew I knew about it, you know?"

Shikamaru's jaw was insistently sweeping the ground, egging for freedom from his face after my little ramble.

"...Do you realize how un-Sasuke like you just sounded?" he asked quickly. I nodded.

"Being around Naruto does that to you." I reasoned and he nodded briefly before eyeing me.

"...So he knows about his past now?"

"Yes."

"And he knows about you knowing about it?"

"...Yes."

"And he now knows because _you_ told him?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You're an idiot."

"Ye-Excuse me?" I snapped, glaring at him. Shikamaru mimicked my folded arms, tapping his foot.

"I said you're an idiot, Sasuke. You shouldn't have been the one to tell him about his past."

"What? Why not?"

"Because even though you two are pretty close and going out and all that, you weren't there with him through all the years he struggled. You can't really know just how deep the pain is. You might have an idea, but actually understanding the way he needs to be understood is not something you're capable of right now." Shikamaru said, his voice clipped.

I glared even harder, standing up straight. "So what should I have done? Lied to him and said I didn't know? He already knew that I knew, and he wouldn't have let it go!"

"But even so, _you_ shouldn't have been the one to tell him."

"Then who the hell do you suggest _should_ have?" I growled, stepping closer.

"_Sakura_ should have." He replied, narrowing his eyes in response to my intimidation.

I stepped back, raising an eyebrow at the answer. "_Sakura_?"

"Yes, _Sakura_. She has been Naruto's friend since they were much younger, before any of us even knew him. She understands him on a level that none of us could. Not you, not Kiba, not me, no one. She should have been the one to tell him, because she would've been able to word it in a way that either lessens the blow, or at least know how to truly comfort him afterwards."

I opened my mouth to argue, but faltered. Shikamaru was right, as much as I hated to admit it. Although I'd been there to comfort Naruto, I could see he was still miserable. I didn't know how to really pull him out of it. I could try to my best ability, but the honest truth was I didn't know everything about him. I didn't know what to say in this kind of situation, or what to look for as indications he was alright or not.

I felt so useless.

Shikamaru seemed to sense my silent distress, as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "What's done is done, and we can't change that. But I think it would be a good idea if you let Sakura talk to Naruto by herself today after school." He said.

I sighed, closing my eyes and reluctantly nodding. Shikamaru let out an approving noise just as the bell rand, signalling we were now late for homeroom class.

I groaned loudly, taking a moment to glare at the nearest clock for not slowing down when we started talking before stomping towards the classroom, Shikamaru following lazily behind.

I pushed the door open and Mizuki-sensei looked up, his eyes raking over me in slight confusion before they met my face.

"...I'm going to assume that you were dragged to school by a pick-up truck, hence your tardiness and ruffled look. Other than that, take your seat." He said motioning to my chair. I nodded, thankful he hadn't given me detention, and walked to my seat.

"And I know you're a lazy git, Nara, and that no amount of detentions will change that, so sit your ass down and at least _pretend _to look interested." Mizuki continued to Shikamaru, who gave a dry smirk before sitting down.

"Alright everyone, today I have a wonderful surprise for you all." Mizuki pulled out a stack of papers and shook them at the class. "It's pop quiz day!" He announced.

The class groaned, me included although it was quiet and Mizuki let out a snort.

"Calm down kids, you're going to pull something. Okay, you know my rules. Talk, cheat, or disrupt and you _die_." He said, walking around and slapping the papers down.

"Sensei, you seem a lot funnier lately!" One girl said suddenly, smiling. "You're really cool now."

Mizuki raised an eyebrow. "You're saying I wasn't cool before?" he smirked when the girl stammered. "I'm just kidding. I know I was an asshole before. But don't think that just because I've gotten a sense of humour I'm not going to be strict." He warned. The students chuckled and I smirked, finding the new and improved Mizuki rather enjoyable.

"Hey Sensei, I have a guess as to why you're so happy now!" One boy said, smirking.

Most of the class turned to look at him questioningly, including Mizuki.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. It's because that stupid Uzumaki monster isn't here anymore isn't it?" the guy laughed.

The room must have dropped twenty degrees the moment he finished. I was glaring at the fucker so hard, I waited for his body to explode under the sheer force. I could sense Shikamaru's angry stare, and out of the corner of my eyes I saw Sakura gritting her teeth, her hands clenched so tightly on her desk her knuckles were bright white. Kiba openly snarling at the jerk, his eyes narrowed and his face more like a fierce dog than ever.

"What did you say, you _fuck_?" Kiba spat, already moving to rise from his seat. I felt my body doing the same, the corners of my vision blurring red. How dare that asshole say that? How fucking dare he!.?

"Inuzuka, Uchiha! Sit down before I forcibly make you." Mizuki snapped quickly, sending us stern looks. Kiba growled, slowly lowering himself back into his seat as if it was the most painful thing he'd ever done. His vicious gaze never left the boy who had spoken and he was still growling.

I stayed standing, also glaring pure death at the boy. I felt sick pleasure in seeing him cower under my gaze.

"Uchiha. _Sit_."

My eyes flicked briefly to Mizuki, the redness in my vision never receding. He met my gaze with his own stern one.

"Sit down _now_." He said slowly. "Before I let you do something regrettable." He added, his eyes briefly glazing over the cowering boy.

Everyone in the class drew in a breath, seeming to understand what he was implying. It took so much effort to lower myself in my chair, anger radiating off of me and the others in crashing waves.

Once my behind touched the plastic of my chair, Mizuki turned his gaze to the now terrified boy.

"You're wrong. And you have ten seconds to pack your things and get out of my classroom. I don't want to see you for the rest of this lesson and I'm going to be writing a letter to your parents. You do not say something like that about a fellow classmate. Uzumaki us not a monster in any way, nor is he stupid. And I'm telling you this now because he received a high score of 82% on the last test, while you received 11%." Mizuki spoke each word loud and clear, the boy sinking lower and lower in his seat as each syllable left his mouth. Once Mizuki was done, he looked distraught. Obviously he had not expected his comment to backfire so badly.

Mizuki stared at him for a moment. "...You've only got five seconds left." He said.

The boy shot up, grabbing all his things and sprinting out of the classroom. As he passed by Sakura's desk, he stumbled badly with a small yelp of pain, almost falling to the floor and only catching himself at the last minute. While he rushed out of the room, I looked at Sakura. She was looking out the window, her eyes narrow. He leg was calmly withdrawing back to cross over the other under her desk.

Mizuki sighed as he walked towards the front of the class. "If anyone ever says anything like that about another student in my class or anyone else's, they will be punished. And severely. That sort of talk is not approved in this school, so keep those dumb thoughts to yourself." He said, sitting down heavily. "You may begin your tests."

At first no one moved, but gradually chairs scraped and the scratching of pencils on paper filled the room. But it was deathly silent when it came to voices. No one spoke a word, and I could feel the occasional glances of some students as I wrote my own name on the blank space at the top of the page.

Rage was curling inside of my stomach like an angry ocean. Even though the cause of it was long gone, the remnants of it were still there. His words were echoing in my mind like some kind of broken record gone even worse. Every time the words 'monster Uzumaki' rang in my head, my grip on the pencil in my hand grew tighter and tighter.

It was no surprise when after the fifth repeat, the pencil snapped in two and I had a fucking huge splinter lodged in my hand.

While I irritably picked at the wood, trying to pull it out of my skin, I hear Mizuki clear his throat slightly.

"Oh and Haruno?"

Sakura looked up, as well as a few other students including me. She looked directly at Mizuki.

He smirked. "Nice aim."

Sakura smiled and even I couldn't really stop the sadistic smirk that curved my face.

The new Mizuki was definitely a good thing.

* * *

**Dun Dun Dun!**

**Next time on Online!: Sasuke and Sakura go back to the Uchiha house to talk to a depressed Naruto. Sasuke tries to think of ways to cheer the blond up, and his mother is only too eager to help him. Itachi enjoys the show, and a friend comes by with a surprise for Naruto. Will it be enough to lift his spirits? Find out next time on Online!**

***music* ~This chapter of Online! was brought to you by 99 publishings.~ ~This story is sponsored by your reviews~ *music fades***

**P.S- if you like the little preview stuff at the end of the chapter, let me know and I'll try to remember to put something at the end of every chapter from now on...  
**


	30. Chapter 30

**Hello everyone! Here I am with a long chapter for you all. Aren't you happy? 8D**

**Kao: I'M HERE TOO!**

**Me: -_- yes, he is. It seems Kao is a lot more popular than I would've thought. I got quite a few reviews asking for him! O_O  
**

**Kao: *smug grin* I'm just so damn charming and awesome. People love me.**

**Me: *rolls eyes* Keep telling yourself that.**

**Kao: YOU CANNOT DENY IT! *points to review page* LOOK! THERE! THEY'RE ASKING FOR ME! THEY LOVE ME! MUAHAHAHAHAHAH!**

**Kam: What? No love for me? *pouts* **

**Me: Don't worry Kam, Jinko loves you!**

**Kao: AND THEY-WHAT?.! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!**

**I GOT _33_ reviews with people saying they love/like my 'New and Improved' Mizuki! 8D HOW IRONIC IS THAT NUMBER? XD**

**Okay, so due to majority vote, I WILL have a short preview sort of thing at the end of the chapter. There were a few saying they enjoy my usual bantering notes instead, so I'll keep those in. All previews will be written in ITALICS to that if you wanna keep the next chapter a surprise, you can just ignore it. I try to please everyone... TwT**

**Special thanks go out to my friend, Emergency Muse and Apprentice, Caville (Diablo199) for helping me figure out how to write out a scene in this chapter. So props for him! **

**Warnings/Disclaimer: Maybe some language, some boy loving(nothing hectic or even mild...all fluffy!) and uh...Itachi having asshole moments. XD I do not own Naruto and company...But Kao is mine to torture as I please!**

**Kao: WHAT? Q.Q  
**

**Me: Okay, no more stalling! ON WITH THE CHAPTER!**

**Online!  
**

* * *

I was curled up under the blankets, drifting somewhere between being awake and being asleep. My eyes weren't entirely closed, and I could make out vague shapes through my lashes. I'd spent the entire morning thinking over everything I'd learned yesterday and needless to say I was feeling downright depressed at the moment.

Not only did I learn how my parents died, I also learned that my mother was pretty much the cause of it.

If you haven't been in this situation before, let me tell you, it sucks dick in a really, really ouch-too-much-fucking-_fang_ kind of way.

I didn't want to think about it, but it was always in my mind now. I was dwelling on what memories I could find in my mind, thinking about the story of what happened and trying to understand _why_ it had to happen that way at all.

I rolled over, and looked at the time on the small clock, seeing it was only one in the afternoon. Sasuke wasn't going to be back until around three. I sighed, sitting up. My stomach was rumbling, and I rubbed it absently. I knew I should go and search for some food, but I didn't feel like moving.

Depression seems to equal instant immobilization. Maybe Shikamaru was permanently depressed and that's why he never wanted to do anything?

While I was contemplating this, the door opened and Mikoto stuck her head in.

"Naruto-kun, are you hungry?" she asked.

As I turned to look at her, my stomach gave a tremendously loud growl and she giggled.

"I'll take that as a yes." She said, and my lips twitched in response.

She nodded and darted away. I lay back down, and absently picked up the fox toy, holding it to my chest. It was quiet for a bit until I caught voices from downstairs. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen area.

"Pass me the knife please, dear." Mikoto's voice said. There were some chinking sounds before she spoke again. "No no, the _big_ one dear."

"This _is_ the big one." Ah, there was Fugaku.

"No, that's the small one."

"This is _small_?"

"Yes dear, I need the big one."

"This one is the size of my _entire_ hand from the wrist down...And I have big hands." Oh did he now? Heh heh.

"Yes dear, I know." Oh my... "But I need the bigger knife."

"Where is it?"

"It should be in that drawer."

"...Mikoto dear..."

"Yes?"

"...This is a _sword_..."

"No darling, it's a knife."

"..._It's a sword_."

"I bought it in the cookware department. It's a _knife_."

"...Where _exactly_ do you go shopping?"

I couldn't help it.

I laughed out loud, curling in on myself slightly with the force. When one looked at the Uchiha's from the outside, you'd imagine their house to be quieter than a grave yard with cold stone walls and regal decorations, and the inhabitants to be like icy mute vampires.

You'd never expect Fugaku and Mikoto to have a silly banter like that at all. I found it hilarious since it contrasted the image they gave so much.

After a few minutes during which I'd calmed down, the door opened again and Mikoto walked in carrying a tray with a plate of food and a glass of water. She smiled as she walked over to the bed, placing the tray on the side table.

"Just let me know if there's anything you need." she said. I smiled slightly, nodding my head to say thanks. She smiled back and ruffled my hair briefly before leaving me to eat.

The day wore on slowly, with me lying in bed and trying not to think about my past-and failing spectacularly. Mikoto often peeked in, but I always pretended to be asleep. I appreciated her concern...but every time she looked in with a motherly gaze, my chest ached. I wished...I wished it was _my_ mother there instead. And of course that wish just brought about another wave of depression.

It must have been around half past three that I distantly heard the front door open and Sasuke calling out his home greeting. I frowned, trying to decide if I wanted to talk to him or curl up and hideaway some more.

Sad to say, I chose the second option and curled up tighter.

I heard some mumbled talking downstairs, then footsteps until someone stopped outside the door. It creaked open, and I kept my eyes closed, making my breathing even in pretend sleep. I heard Sasuke's voice mumble something under his breath, and footsteps walked away. I frowned.

The bastard didn't close the door.

Sighing, I turned over and cracked my eyes open.

Sakura was inches from my face, kneeling next to the bed and looking at me thoughtfully.

My heart decided it was bored, and did a very complex, spastic dance in my chest to entertain itself while my eyes had a sudden growth spurt and grew ten times their normal size.

And yet through it all, my voice box was still curled away in its domain, unwilling to go to work today.

Sakura hummed, her breath fanning over my face.

"So you've already reached that stage of depression." She stated softly. I blinked while my nerves calmed down from the scare she'd given me, but I still didn't speak. This seemed to be the reaction she hoped wouldn't happen, since she sighed sadly. Her fingers came up and tangled in my hair, rubbing a spot that always made me feel relaxed. Sakura knew me so well...

"Naruto...The last time you stopped speaking...was when you found the cat you used to look after dead in front of your door...when those bullies had killed it to taunt you."

I closed my eyes. I remembered that time.

It had been a few months after Sakura became my best friend. A stray cat, Siamese I believe it was, had started showing up near my house. I fed it and pet it when it was by me, and Sakura and I had agreed to look after it however we could. The cat had warmed up to me quickly, since it was by my house, and I'd grown really fond of it. It was like part of the family.

Then one day I came home to see a group of bullies that often teased me running away from my front door laughing. The cat was lying on the front porch. They'd broken its neck.

"You were so upset that time. You stopped talking to everyone, even me. You just curled up and cried all alone." Sakura continued softly, her hand still stroking through my hair.

I sighed, my eyes lowering to half mast as I stared at her blankly. She stared back, worry shining in her green irises.

"I remember how nervous I got when you didn't show up for after that. I thought you were sick, so I didn't panic on the first day, but on the second I just had to go and check up on you. I almost got lost too, what with all the alleys and backstreets around your house." Her lips twitched briefly at the memories, but I didn't move. She sighed again, the sound seeming so loud in the otherwise silent house.

I wondered why it was so quiet. My eyes shifted, and it took some effort not to raise my eyebrow or smirk in amusement at what I saw.

The door was still open slightly, and through the crack I could see three pairs of onyx eyes peering at us curiously. I recognized Sasuke's easily, as they were sending a heated glare at Sakura's hand in my hair. Then there was Mikoto's worried eyes as she watched me. Last it was Itachi's eyes, looking nothing but innocently curious.

Innocent...ha ha.

"Naruto." Sakura called for my attention, and my eyes slid back to her. She stood up, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me up. I groaned, but didn't protest more than that as she pulled me out of the bed. Once again she displayed that insane strength hidden away within her when she half carried me out the room. The Uchiha's had scattered like ants when Sakura approached the door, and she dragged me down the hall.

"...Where're we goin'?" I mumbled. My voice was soft and almost nonexistent.

"Just wait." Sakura replied as we got to the bottom of the stairs and headed towards the front door. "We'll be back in a moment!" she called, and pulled me out the house before anyone could question or protest.

Sakura started running as soon as we were out of the house, and I had no choice but to follow along. I was wearing nothing but the black sweatpants to sleep in, a blue T-shirt that belonged to Sasuke and my socks.

Sakura didn't seem to care about my state of dress as she simply kept pulling me down the street. We turned into a back alley, and then another and I wondered if she actually had a destination in plan or if she was just running randomly.

When I was starting to consider asking her, she stopped.

"Here...this should be fine." She mumbled.

I gazed around, seeing a bunch of trash cans scattered around. There were glass bottles on the floor, empty cardboard boxes and newspapers' laying around and a few rusty trolleys... it was a regular hobo heaven.

"Why?" I asked simply, turning to stare at her. My vision was assaulted with pink hair as Sakura yanked me into a hug, squeezing my shoulders so tightly I thought my shoulder blades would come slicing out my skin.

I gasped in pain, my arms flailing weakly at my sides while Sakura continued to commit a slow and torturous murder.

"S-Sakura...chan..." I wheezed.

She let go suddenly, and I stumbled on the spot, trying to regain my bearings.

"Let it out." She instructed, stepping back.

I stared at her, raising an eyebrow in question. She walked over to the wall and picked up an empty beer bottle. Examining it, she nodded before walking over to me and placing it in my hand.

"Break it." She said.

Okay...Sakura's sanity was now under question. "What?"

"Break it. Smash it. Trash it. Kick it. Hit it. Kill it."

"Are you quoting that weird song from Daft Punk?"

Sakura had the decency to smack me upside the head. "No...I'm saying let out all your emotions. Everything. Cry out your sadness—"

"You want me to sing a tearful ballad to an empty beer bottle?" I deadpanned. Sakura smirked.

"You're making wisecracks. This is already a good sign." She said. I sighed heavily.

"Sakura-chan...I appreciate you coming to visit and for stroking my hair and all, but...I'm really not in the mood for this. I just want to sleep." I said warily.

"Pussy."

I looked up at her, my mouth gaping. "Sorry?"

"I said pussy. You're a pussy." She said, smirking. I blinked at her.

"...Did you hit your head?"

"You're a weakling. You can't even break a bottle."

"Sakura-chan I don't want to—"

"Weakling."

"Sakura-chan—"

"Wimp."

Okay, now I was getting annoyed. "Sakura—"

"Can't even break a little glass bottle. How sad." She sang, looking at her nails. I growled and turned to the wall, hurling the bottle with all my strength. It shattered against the wall and the pieces shot everywhere, scattering across the ground and creating an illusion of fallen stars on the dark ground as the sunlight hit them.

I rounded on Sakura, fuming. "There I broke the fucking bottle now—"

"It felt good didn't it?"

I stopped, gaping at her. "...What the hell are you on about?"

"When you saw that bottle shatter, you felt relief." Sakura stated, crossing her arms and daring me to deny it. I glared back, really not in the mood for her womanly ways of mind-fucking.

"Yeah, it felt kind of good to smash it, but that doesn't matter. I'm going back and I'm going to lie in bed and sleep." I stated, turning to leave.

"You feel betrayed." I paused at Sakura's voice. "You feel abandoned over what happened to your parents. You blame your mom and yet, at the same time...you can't help but miss her and love her. She loved you, and you know it. But you're hurting—"

"Stop it Sakura."

"—You're feeling lonely because no-one can understand how you must be feeling. You don't want pity because you're not that type of person. You don't really want sympathy either. You just want understanding and recognition. You're angry at your parents for taking that away from you, and you feel guilty over those feelings."

"Stop."

"But you realize you don't have to. You have the right to feel angry at them. You have the right to be angry at everyone who's ever caused you grief over what they did. You have the right to curse them—"

"SHUT UP!" The trashcan nearest me was sent tumbling and rolling across the ground from my blow while I panted, feeling rage build up inside like a wave. "JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I roared, rounding on her.

She had no idea what I was feeling. She had no idea what I thought. There was no way she could understand what I was thinking...

So _why_ was she able to repeat everything I had been thinking and feeling like that?

"Let it out!" Sakura said calmly, waving her hands around. "No-one will stop you from going ballistic here. All that pain that you've been dealing with all these years, and all the sadness that's built up inside you..." her eyes locked on mine, "...Just let it go."

"You want me to fucking let it go? You want me to go fucking insane and trash shit?" I spat before storming over to a box that held several newspapers and bottles. "_FINE_!"

And then the alley was filled with sounds of destruction.

* * *

Wow...

It must have been about an hour later that I finally, _finally_ calmed down. I was lying on my back in the middle of the alleyway, surrounded by broken glass, torn up boxes, dented and mangled trash cans and other forms of destruction.

I had, as Sakura suggested, gone completely ballistic. Once I started to tear shit up, I couldn't stop myself. I just kept kicking, punching, tearing and throwing. And I was also swearing and screaming.

But now I was exhausted. All the anger had seeped out during my rampage and I was left with absolutely not drive to continue destroying. All the rage was gone now.

I heard glass chinking and turned my head slightly to see Sakura crouching down next to me. She looked as calm as a person could after watching their best friend go all _HULK-SMASH_ on everything in sight. I looked over and noticed there were a few scratches and tiny cuts on her arms and near her ankles.

My eyes widened as I remembered throwing a bottle wildly, and it shattering somewhere near her.

"...Did I do that?" I asked weakly, my eyes trained on the small wounds. Sakura looked at her arms briefly before smirking.

"No, the bottle did."

"I'm sorry." I mumbled. I saw a thin droplet of blood pool at one of the deeper scratches and wanted to wipe it away. But my hands were dirty from touching all this shit, and I didn't want to infect Sakura with some hobo-disease.

Sakura smiled gently, her hand once more finding place in my hair. "Don't worry. I know you would never hurt me intentionally." She said softly.

I blinked up at her, feeling warning bells going off in my head. There was something about the tone and the look in her eyes as she said that. I stared at her, suddenly feeling intensely aware of her fingers in my hair.

As I continued to stare at her, I noticed the small tear tracks on her face and realized she had been crying at one point through my rampage. But things were clicking into place slowly and I felt a sharp sting in my chest.

"Sakura-chan..." I began slowly and spoke in nothing but a whisper, "Do...do you...like me?"

Sakura blinked before giving me a confused smile. "Of course I like you. You're my best friend. If I didn't like you, we'd have a few complications." She said, laughing lightly. I reached up and grabbed her wrist, stilling her hand.

"No I mean...do you _like_ _me_, like me?" I said slowly.

Sakura stared at me before another smile curved her face, this one sad and resigned.

"Honestly...I _used_ to." She replied. I slowly sat up, never taking my eyes off her face. She sat back, checking for any glass first and crossed her legs. "But, much like you, I got over it."

"...How long?"

"A few months. It started about two months after the incident with the cat. I just started seeing you differently. I suppose it's because I saw how vulnerable you really were, and it made me realize that under that loud and optimistic appearance was a lonely little boy looking for love." She giggled slightly.

"...I'm sorry." I mumbled, looking at my lap. "..If I'd realized—" I was stopped when she pressed two fingers to my lips, shutting me up.

"Don't feel sorry. Like I said, I got over it. I'm your best friend, and you're mine, but we would never have been something more. It's just not who we are. Besides..." Sakura grinned, "You have the hottie known as Uchiha Sasuke now. You'd be a fool to give him up."

I laughed slightly, shaking my head. "I know. And I don't plan to."

Sakura nodded in approval and climbed to her feet, holding out a hand to help me. I took it and she hauled me to my feet. I had plenty of cuts on my hands and arms too, and they stung slightly at the movement but I didn't bother to complain. They'd heal quick enough.

Sakura and I tiptoed through the shattered glass and trash towards the exit and slowly made our way back to the Uchiha house.

As we were walking, I sighed and looked back towards the alley. "You know I'm still feeling depressed."

Sakura nodded. "I know. I didn't take you there expecting you to come out shitting rainbows, but you needed to get rid of the anger that was holding you back." She looked at me and smiled. "Now you can at least work towards getting back to normal. People will be able to comfort you when you're feeling sad, but no one can comfort an angry person."

I nodded slowly, feeling myself smile at her. "...But still," I looked back at the alley, frowning in regret. "That was probably a hobo's condo or something and I totally trashed it. Now I feel bad."

The sound of Sakura's laughter lasted all the way back to the Uchiha house.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

"They're probably sitting in some alleyway making out."

Just ignore him, just ignore him...

"Or perhaps she's taken advantage of his weak state, and is screwing his brains out as we speak."

The pencil in my hand snapped in half, giving me yet another splinter today while I gritted my teeth and tried to not stab the man sitting next to me.

"Maybe he's enjoying it. He seems like the loud type, so he's probably yelling out all sorts of nonsense like '_yeah baby_' and '_you like that_' and stuff."

"Itachi," I growled lowly, glaring at him out of the corner of my eyes. "Shut. Up."

Itachi, being the asshole he is, just smirked and leant back. "I'm just speculating. After all, his best friend, an attractive young _girl_, drags him out the house when he's only half dressed and she's wearing a school uniform-kinky shit right there-and they haven't come back over an hour later."

It took a tremendous amount of will power not to jump on him and bash him over the head with my Science text book.

It had been over an hour since Sakura dragged Naruto out of the house, and I'd spent most of that time doing homework. I was tense, wondering what they were doing, but Sakura had told me she had a plan to get Naruto out of his depression and that I must not question.

I had, after a small argument ending with Sakura's fist in my face and a moment of inner fear-screaming, agreed to stay at home and just go with whatever she planned.

But Itachi wasn't making it easy to just sit and wait. He had sat down next to me after half an hour of them being gone, and started naming all the things they might be doing. It started with '_she's probably going to beat it out of him_' and went on to '_maybe she's going to put on a puppet show to cheer him up_' and had now escalated to '_she's fucking him, plain and simple'_.

"Maybe they found a hooker and are having a threesome?"

"I hate you." I sighed, placing my head in my arms.

Itachi only chuckled and patted my back. "Well I think—"

"We're back!" Sakura's voice called.

I stood up immediately, ignoring Itachi's calls of "Don't agree to pay the hooker!" and went to the front door.

When I caught sight of the two of them, I decided that perhaps Itachi's first guess of Sakura beating him into cheer wasn't too farfetched.

Naruto was dirty as hell, his arms and hands covered in scratches and even some on his face. Sakura, while less dirty, had a few scratches on her arms too, and one look at her legs showed some more near her ankles.

"...What happened?" I asked, frowning and walking over. I was pleased to see that Naruto looked a lot brighter. Even though he wasn't smiling, his eyes were no longer that empty, dull blue they had been earlier, and his posture showed some calm and freedom.

"Naruto destroyed a hobo's condo." Sakura said, and then giggled. Naruto's lips twitched slightly.

...I was confused.

"You what?" I asked him, frowning. He sighed, shaking his arms out.

"Sakura dragged me to an alleyway—"

"I _knew_ it!" Itachi's voice yelled from the living room.

"Shut up Itachi!" I yelled back. "Ignore him, he's being a jerk. Continue." I said to Naruto, who was looking towards the living room in confusion.

"Uh...yeah, Sakura dragged me to an alleyway a bit back, and there was lots of stuff there. You know, trash cans and bottles and the whole hobo-deluxe, and I...kind of trashed the place." He finished, rubbing a hand through his hair and ultimately smearing more dirt in it.

I blinked, looking between them. Sakura was smiling and Naruto looked sheepish.

"...You trashed an alleyway?" I repeated, and he nodded. "...Do you feel better?"

Naruto smiled, and I felt my heart beat faster with relief. "Yes I do. I'm still sad over it, but at least now I don't feel so...trapped." he mumbled.

I nodded and walked forwards, only to stop and cover my nose. "Dobe you stink." I said bluntly.

He frowned, lifting his arm up and taking a sniff. His expression was comical when he pulled his arm away.

"I don't _just_ stink, I could freaking kill small animals." He exclaimed, turning towards the stairs. "Uh, I'm going to go shower." He called, thumping up the stairs.

I nodded after him before turning to Sakura once he was out of sight. "So...he's alright now?"

"Not completely. Like he said, he's still a bit depressed. But he'll respond to comfort and attempts at cheering him up a lot better now." Sakura said, motioning for me to come closer. "So, what you need to do is to try and keep him positive. It won't help if you leave him to think. He'll say he doesn't feel like talking or doing stuff, but you need to ignore it and make him do stuff. He needs to be distracted so that he can get over it. So try to keep him busy." She instructed.

I nodded, feeling as if Sakura was a doctor telling me how to treat the patient. "So I just need to keep him busy?" at her nod, I smirked. "I can do that."

Sakura gave me a look. "I mean as in with fun activities."

"That's what I'm planning." I leered towards the stairs, but a sharp pain made me turn around wide-eyed. "Did you just hit me?"

Sakura glared, her hand still raised. "Yes, and I'm not above hitting you again. When I say fun activities, I mean things like games or movies or dancing. Not blow jobs and—" My hand clamping over her mouth shut her up while I hissed and looked around frantically.

"Be quiet! If my mother or father heard you saying stuff like that..." I swallowed, not wanting to imagine it. Sure, they knew I wasn't an angel. I was gay for crying out loud, but that didn't mean they'd be happy to hear about my perverted fantasies.

Sakura nodded and I pulled my hand away. "But seriously, Sasuke-kun, no perverseness. He just went through attempted rape; I doubt he's going to want to be touched that way." She said sternly.

I nodded, deciding to ignore the small twinge of disappointment at the truth in her statement. "So I just need to keep him entertained and busy?"

"Yes. I know he likes card games and stuff like that...and he'll enjoy dancing, so maybe try that. Movies are good too, but nothing sad or tragic. It needs to be filled with humour or action."

"So is Texas Chainsaw Massacre okay?"

Sakura gave me a horrified look. "Do you really want to put ideas into his head of what to do when he's angry?" she asked seriously.

I frowned. "Okay, so no mass murder movies. Anything else to advise?"

"Yeah. Feed him ramen. _Lots_ of ramen."

Well I should've seen that coming.

I nodded in understanding, and Sakura waved as she headed for the door. I looked outside the window before glancing back at her. "Would you like my brother to give you a ride home?" I asked, motioning to the ever fading sunlight.

Sakura thought for a moment. "Will he mind?" she asked.

"Itachi!" I called. "Would you mind giving Sakura a lift home?" I asked.

"No, I wouldn't." Itachi said, walking in. He was wearing a long black leather jacket-a matrix jacket replica- and was holding the sword-which our mother _insisted_ was just a _big knife_- in his right hand.

Sakura took one look at him before opening the front door. "On second thought, I choose not to get dropped off at home by Mr. Modern Samurai over there. My parents might build a large tower and lock me away at the top for the rest of my life. Tell Naruto I said goodbye and will chat to him soon." She finished, striding out.

Itachi and I shared a look. After a moment, he smirked.

"I like her."

"Don't get ideas." I deadpanned. "She's a minor."

"I don't mean in that way little brother. I meant she has more balls than you do." Itachi said smoothly.

"Well considering you have no balls at all, I'm not going to be insulted." I countered.

"I do have balls, thank you very much. You can't deny it since you yourself once tried to relieve me of their heavy burden." Itachi growled.

I snickered evilly just as my mother walked in. "Mom, Itachi says he's got heavy balls."

The look on his face was well worth any retaliation he would pursue later on.

* * *

I could hear the shower going in the bathroom, and looked around. The hall was empty.

I smirked, and carefully eased the door open. The curtain was closed, and I saw the shadow of Naruto through the white material. He seemed to be scrubbing his hair, and my smirk widened at the fact he hadn't heard me come in. Easing the door closed, I stepped forward.

Sakura had said I must avoid doing anything sexual since Naruto had just gone through a rather traumatic sexual experience. I held back a growl at the thought of Kabuto putting his filthy hands anywhere on Naruto's body.

But at the same time, I knew that Naruto was strong and he was getting over it. He hadn't had a freak out, and he was more open to touching others, especially after last night. Granted, I hadn't tried to touch him any more than an innocent hug or hand holding, but I thought it'd be best to start getting him used to it. I had no intention of never touching him intimately again.

...And yes, I was well aware that that might sound like a really bastard thing to do, but I'm a horny teenage boy with raging hormones. It's just life.

I crept quietly towards the shower, and saw Naruto pause.

"Hello?"

Knowing that he'd probably shove soap down my throat if I snuck up on him anymore, I cleared my throat.

"Dobe."

The curtain was drawn back slightly and Naruto's soap head looked out with wide-eyes.

"Teme! What the hell are you doing in here?" he asked.

I smirked. "I just thought I'd keep you company."

"B-but...I'm in the shower!"

"So?"

"_So_? I'm naked! Get out!"

"Come on Naruto...I'm going to see it eventually." I smirked even wider when his face turned red. "So why not now?"

"B-because...because..."

"See?" I said, stepping closer. "There's no reason. Besides..." I looked him in the eye and gave him a real smile. "I would never hurt you."

Naruto seemed to struggle with himself at that, looking around before he let out an explosive sigh.

"...What exactly do you want to do?" he mumbled, and I found his blush extremely endearing.

Smirking again, I reached forward and slipped my hands through the curtain. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel. My hands landed on his chest, and his breath hitched along with mine.

He was wet, more water running down over my fingers. As much as I wanted to throw my clothes off, jump in there with him and hump him like a bunny, I knew we were far from there yet. I could feel how tense his muscles were under my fingers, and slowly I started rubbing circles on his skin.

I kept my eyes on his face to show him I was sincere, and he slowly relaxed.

"Teme...not too far." He said softly, and I nodded.

"Not too far." I agreed, letting my hands slip down his sides. When I reached his hips, he tensed up again and his eyes glazed over. I hissed softly.

"Naruto, look at me." I ordered gently, and after a moment his eyes focused on me. "It's only me. I'm not going to hurt you, or touch you in any way you don't want. Relax, Dobe."

He bit his lip, a trickle of water running down his cheek before he nodded slowly and forced himself to relax.

I smiled and started massaging his hips slowly before easing my hands back over his butt. He didn't tense, but his face went a deep red I couldn't help the laugh that slipped out. He glared at me briefly before looking down as my hands started to move to his front. My heart was beating wildly and excitement started to grow inside me as I got closer.

Suddenly, I felt him shivering, and his voice weakly spoke. "S-stop...stop."

I drew my hands away immediately, and he relaxed, shaking his head slightly.

"Sorry Sasuke...I'm...I'm not ready for that right now." He said.

I nodded in understanding. "Of course." He looked up at me and I leant forward, pressing my lips to his in a tender kiss to calm him down. He responded after a few moments, and I felt the slight spray of water from the shower splash onto my face.

After a while, I pulled back and cupped his cheek. "...Hurry up dobe. We're going to play a game when you're dressed." I smirked at his surprised look.

"Uh, actually I kind of want to sleep some more." He mumbled.

Well give Sakura a medal. She was right on target.

"Hn. No. You're going to come and play with me." I said. Naruto stared at me, and I stared back. Finally, the implications of what I said caught up with me and I felt my face warm up. "I meant a game."

Naruto snickered lightly before sighing. "Fine."

I nodded in approval and turned to leave. "Don't get soap in your eyes now."

"Huh? Oh I won't-SHIT _OUCH_!"

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I couldn't believe it.

I honest to the heavens, could not believe it.

"...You're cheating..." Sasuke said, his eyes wide as he stared at the culprit.

I nodded eagerly in agreement. "You must be!" I exclaimed. "You haven't lost a single hand!"

Mikoto smiled cheerfully, placing her cards on the table. "Oh look, a full house." She said, before sweeping the matchsticks towards her already mountainous pile.

Itachi was frowning, looking at his cards in wonderment. "...I got absolutely nothing again." He murmured, sounding very suspicious. Sasuke put his cards down too, revealing he had a pair of aces. I placed my cards down, showing nothing but a pair of twos.

"Are you cheating?" Sasuke asked, staring at Mikoto. She giggled.

"Sasuke, I wouldn't cheat." She reprimanded lightly, placing a matchstick in the middle. "Here, let Itachi shuffle the cards to show you I'm not doing anything." She said, handing the deck to Itachi.

He eyed her suspiciously before shuffling he cards quickly and handing them out.

"Alright...I'll _definitely _win this round!" I said, determined.

A few minutes later, I was sitting with my head in my arms, repeating the same word over and over.

"Why? Why? Why? _Why_?" I said, punctuating each word with a tap of my fingers.

Sasuke had a hand on my back, rubbing it soothingly while he struggled against his own inner turmoil.

"It was a valiant try." Itachi said eventually, patting me awkwardly on the head.

Mikoto just laughed from behind her gigantic pile of matchsticks.

"You put up a brilliant fight, Naruto-kun, but I had the better hand in the end." She said sweetly.

I groaned. "How do you do it? I had a Flush! A Flush!"

"Yes, but I had a Royal flush." Mikoto reminded.

I groaned, letting my head thump against the table top. We'd played various different card games, from Go Fish to Texas Hold 'Em and finally regular five card Poker, and yet somehow Mikoto had won every single game. I was sure she had to have cheated at one point, and it seemed Itachi and Sasuke thought so too.

We'd been playing games since I got out of the shower, and I had to admit it was fun. I knew Sasuke and the others were just trying to distract me, no doubt under Sakura's orders. It was working, but I still felt a bit depressed.

"Oh! Why don't we play snap next?" Mikoto suggested, clapping her hands together happily.

In unison Itachi, Sasuke and I stared at her hand, or more specifically, her long painted nails. Mikoto blinked before looking at her fingers and laughing.

"Oh right. I probably shouldn't. I don't want to scratch any of you." She chuckled.

Itachi smirked. "Maybe we can play...pin the tail on the Sasuke?" he grinned evilly.

"Say what?" Sasuke scooted away slightly.

I coughed into my hand to hide my laugh, but before any more could be said, Itachi's phone began vibrating on the table.

He picked it up and flipped it open. "Hello?"

We watched as his face showed slight surprise, then curiosity. "Why must I do that?" And then a look of understanding appeared before he smirked lightly. "You're a big softie, you know that?"

Whoever was on the other line obviously hung up for Itachi chuckled and closed his phone.

He looked directly at me. "Naruto-kun must go stand outside, and look to the sky to the left. We can go and watch too."

I blinked, but after a moment stood up with the rest.

"Fugaku dear, we're going outside for a second." Mikoto called as we walked. There were footsteps before Fugaku joined our little march.

"I have to see this."

"See what?" I asked, wondering why he looked so smug. Fugaku just shook his head and ushered us outside along with Itachi.

Sasuke and I shared a confused look, and judging by Mikoto's slight frown, she was left in the dark too.

We trudged outside, and as Itachi directed, looked to the left and towards the sky.

"Okay...now what?" I asked. Itaci smirked and pulled his phone out, pressing a speed dial button and letting it ring twice before turning it off.

We waited a total of thirty seconds before a shrill whistling sound caught our attention.

My eyes widened as I looked to the sky towards the left, and then my vision was filled with colour.

"Holy..."

Fireworks of every colour were exploding in the sky, forming different patterns and shapes. There was a smiling face from a bright yellow firework, a red and green weeping willow and a few white bursts. The display was nothing short of absolutely magical.

However, the largest firework left my jaw sitting on the floor. In an explosion of orange, blue and red, the words '_To Naruto-kun, Lots of Love from Deidara and Uchiha's!_' were spelled out across the sky.

"...How did he do that?" Sasuke asked, his voice showing how impressed he was. I was still so stunned by the entire show even as more orange fireworks went off, lighting the sky.

Fugaku chuckled behind us. "Well, Deidara is a talented boy. He just needed a few extra funds to get it finished." He said.

Mikoto spun around to face him, her face shocked. "Funds? So then when you...the money you drew today without reason...It was for this?" she asked, and at his nod a large smile broke out onto his face. "Oh Fugaku!" she cried, hugging him. "You're so sweet!"

I turned to look at him, gaping. "...All this...was for me?" I asked, still unable to believe it.

Fugaku smiled-I was creeped out at first- and nodded. "Now cheer up and enjoy the show. Deidara is going to arrive here soon to see the results of his hard work."

My lips slowly pulled up into a grin as I turned back to the fireworks. It was amazing, and my heart was swelling with happiness at the gift. I felt a brush against my hand before fingers laced with my own. I glanced over to Sasuke, seeing him smiling at me. I returned the look and he leant over to place a gentle kiss against my cheek. If Mikoto didn't start giggling behind us, he may have done more, but as it was he pulled away and settled for gripping my hand.

I gripped back, looking up at the colourful display, feeling truly happy for the first time in days.

Things were definitely looking up.

* * *

**Kao: Oh wow, any more fluff and I'd be able to make a pillow.**

**Me: Shut up! Some fans enjoy fluff!*starts shaking him* FLUFF IS NICE! IT MAKES PEOPLE SMILE AND MELT INSIDE AND IN SOME CASES THEY GET TOOTHACHES FROM ALL THE SWEETNESS THAT IS IN THE FLUFF-  
**

**Kao: -Okay, I get it! Sheesh! Crazy cow...**

**Me: Crazy Kao? Why yes Kao, you are pretty crazy.**

**Kao: I hate you... -_-**

**Me: *grins* No you don't, you love me to bits. I GAVE YOU LIFE FOOL!**

**Kam: Excuse Juura-sensei, she's feeling hyper after having, and I kid you not, five mugs of hot chocolate with two sugars, in a row in the past 2 hours.**

**Me: HOT CHOCOLATE IS GOOD! D8**

**Kam: It also makes you fat!**

**Me/Kao: ...*shares a look and grins*BUT WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! EVERYBODY LOVES CHOCOLATTE!**

**Kam: -_- ...**

**PREVIEW!**

_While Sasuke and Naruto try to get past the blonds' fear of being touched together, it seems Kiba's finally figured out where Naruto's staying. Oh dear..._

**~This story is brought to you by 99 Publishings!~**

**~This chapter and future chapters are sponsored by your reviews!~  
**


	31. Chapter 31 The real one

**~ATTENTION!~**

**Guys, I'm so sorry that this isn't- *several despairing and threatening cries from readers* -ISN'T AS LONG AS THE LAST CHAPTER IS WHAT I WAS SAYING! Phew... I thought I was gonna die for a moment! *smiles***

**Everyone I am sorry for the horrendously long wait. Seriously, I must have slapped myself about five times today as I was writing. Every time my fingers slowed I'd reach up and slap myself and yell 'GET ON WITH IT DAMN YOU!' and then I was typing away, cackling like a mad scientist and waiting for my Igor to bring me some chips and soda.**

**Sadly, Igor was in a car crash, and the chips and soda were delayed. He will be fine, but he had to get his hump removed...he was very sad.**

**Now, I just wanna give another thank you to all my faithful readers for helping with the Story-Thief issue. You were all amazing, and it's thansk to your support and reporting that we managed to get the thief to take down their stories. Sadly, they're still on the site, but if they steal a story again, We'll all be on him/her like a million Naruto clones on the last bowl of ramen...but in a bad way.**

**Second... HOLY SHIT LOOKAT THAT NUMBER OF REVIEWS! OQO I am...speechless. ALMOST 1,100 reviews? And I know that after this chapter there'll be more... I'm so shocked! And so happy! Thank you, everyone! It's really amazing, and I love you all soo much for standing with me throughout this story! THIS STORY WASN'T EVEN ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO BE THIS BIG! When I got the idea, I had imagined five, maybe ten chapters at most...and here we are on chapter 31...Holy Ramen Gods...**

**Kao: So basically, she's saying, we got the chapter, she adores each and every one of her readers, she worships food entities, and she agrees I'm the best of the best of the best.**

**Juura: I never said that. NARUTO's the best of the best of the best.**

**Kao: OH YEAH? WEll...well... -_- I can't argue with that.**

**Juura: B] DAMN RIGHT!**

**Disclaimer: Me? Own? ...Seriously? Pffft... ¬_¬ fools.**

**Warnings: STRAIGHT BOYS, :3, you might feel slightly uncomfortable for the very first little bit of the chappie, but fret not, you will not be gagging, retching, and otherwise gouging your eyes out. And fangirls, (and guys) CALM YOURSELVES...you will not be fangasming or having epic nosebleeds. But you might bite your lips and smile a little pervily. Also, Sasuke has a few OOC moments, but considering it's AU and Sasuke isn't an emo jerk-face, it's acceptable...right? Oh...and FLUFF. I like me some fluff. That is all.**

**Online! (for real, this time 8D)  
**

* * *

"Okay...I'm going to try again. If you start feeling uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll stop."

"...Okay."

Sasuke nodded, and once more reached out. I took deep breaths, and forced myself to relax. His hands slipping under my shirt and slowly, gently, trailed up.

This was now the fourth time we were trying this.

It was Saturday morning, and we were the only ones up at the moment. Last night after the fireworks, Deidara had arrived along with Kisame, and he'd proceeded to rant about how he would make sure I was cheered up as well as the fact that my gift had gotten him a great deal with a company that makes party supplies and festival goods.

We'd ended up having a very big dinner, which turned into a small party of sorts and everyone stayed up late. Who knew that Itachi could sing when tipsy?

But now it was morning, and Sasuke had asked-subliminally ordered me- if we could try what we started in the shower yesterday again.

I knew that I had to get past the fear of being touched...after all Sasuke was a horny guy, and I had my moments too. We had to get past this eventually, and I guessed it would be better to try it together rather than letting it grow until we can't get passed it at all.

And I knew he wouldn't hurt me. If I told him to stop, he would stop.

That was a big help in my mind, since it gave me some confidence.

Sasuke kept his face open. He was sitting crossed legged in front of me on the bed, our knees touching.

His fingers brushed over my chest, raising goose bumps. I glared at his smirk when I shuddered after one ticklish spot was brushed, but didn't say anything. Finally, he'd explored my entire chest area under my shirt, and his hands slid down my sides.

This was where we'd found an obstacle.

His hands went towards my backside, and it was all fine. He rubbed soothing circles on my hips before moving his hands very slowly down my thighs. I tensed slightly, but kept my breathing even and tried to relax. He paused, his hands on my upper thighs and waited patiently for me to get my muscles to calm down.

"...You okay?" he asked softly. I nodded, keeping my eyes on his hands.

"...K-keep going." I encouraged.

He nodded and once more, moved his hands very slowly. As they got closer and closer to my groin, I fought back the images in my head of the incident, reminding myself that I was safe and sound here.

His fingers brushed over my front, through the material of my pants, and I bit my lip. He took my silence as a good sign and once more brushed over it before pressing down slightly.

'_I'm going to break you, Angel..._'

"S-Stop!" I gasped, my knees locking together. He pulled his hand away immediately, and instead wrapped me in a tight hug, my face pressing against his shoulder.

"It's okay. It's okay. No one is going to hurt you." He murmured and I nodded, letting the memories fade.

"...Sorry..." I mumbled.

"Don't be sorry." He said sharply. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry for pushing this..."

"No. You don't have to be sorry either. I do want to be able to do this sort of thing with you...it's just..." I sighed, looking to the side. "It's just going to take some time, I guess."

Sasuke nodded in understanding, squeezing me a bit before leaning back. "Are you hungry?"

"A little bit."

"Let's go get some food." He said, scooting off the bed. I followed and the two of us slowly made our way downstairs with as little noise as we could. We entered the kitchen, and Sasuke set about looking around for something to fix for us.

I leant against the counter, chatting quietly with him as he worked.

"What are the plans for today?" I asked eventually. "Are we doing anything?"

Sasuke hummed while buttering some bread. "Well...we can go out to lunch if you want? Maybe get some," he turned to smirk at me, "Ramen~?" he finished.

I grinned, mouth already starting to water at the thought of those delicious, oh so heavenly noodles.

How I missed my ramen.

"Yes please!" I said, giving him the best puppy stare I could.

He chuckled as he continued to work. "We'll go later on in the day. We'll walk up to that cafe by your place and get some food and then stop off at your house to get anything you need."

I wasn't listening. I'd trailed off the moment he agreed to get me ramen and was now imagining myself swimming in a giant bowl of ramen that would never empty.

A sleepy looking Deidara walked into the room, rubbing at his eyes. "Good morning Uchiha Baby. And good morning-...Naruto, you're drooling on your shirt." Deidara said slowly, pointing.

I blinked and reached a hand up to wipe at my mouth, face burning with embarrassment.

"Oops."

Sasuke snickered and Deidara laughed loudly while he went to sit down.

"So, anything interesting happening today? It's already..." Deidara glanced at the clock and blinked. "Wow, it's already half past eleven. I never would've guessed." He mumbled.

Sasuke walked over, handing me a toasted cheese, ham and, wouldn't you know it, tomato sandwich. Deidara whined pathetically.

"No sandwich for me?"

"No." Sasuke said flatly, and I laughed at the kicked puppy expression on Deidara's face.

Finally, he shrugged and crossed his arms. "Fine be that way. I'll just wait until Mikoto makes a big, delicious breakfast and eat that while you two starve." He said triumphantly.

"My mother wont' be coming downstairs to cook any time soon, so by the time that happens, Naruto and I will be out eating food anyway." Sasuke deadpanned, and once more I covered my mouth to stop crumbs cascading on the floor at the look on Deidara's face.

"Well...well...you suck." Deidara huffed, crossing his arms.

"I'll swallow too." Sasuke quipped, looking at me.

I blushed and Deidara had the decency to groan and over his ears. "Didn't really need to know that." He mumbled.

"Teme." I growled while Sasuke smirked at the two of us.

Suddenly, there were several loud knocks on the front door. Sasuke and I looked at each other curiously, wondering who was visiting. It wasn't like the Uchihas had visitors aside from Deidara, Kisame and myself.

The knocking came again, louder this time and more insistent.

Sasuke shrugged after a moment and walked out towards the front door. Deidara and I poked our heads into the hall curiously. My sandwich was still hanging from my mouth, and Deidara reached down to steal a string of cheese, smirking when I glowered at him.

Sasuke walked to the door, yawning slightly before he pulled it open.

"Good morning, Uchiha."

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

When one bears the fine name of Uchiha, there are many things that come with it. Along with a certain amount of wealth and respect, one also has to deal with certain traits and characteristics.

For example, did you know Uchihas are not meant to giggle? No, no, an Uchiha male would never giggle. Even the woman of the Uchiha line wouldn't giggle unless necessary, but rather simply give a refined chuckle.

Another thing was that Uchihas never backed down from anything or to anyone. Uchihas were strong, stubborn and steadfast bastards, and yes they did enjoy alliteration.

Uchihas were also unafraid. They got angry, they got annoyed, they got _disgusted_ and they could even be _happy_. But an Uchiha being afraid? That was not something heard of often. If an Uchiha was afraid, it was for a very, _very_ good reason.

And today, it became known that one of those reasons was in the form of a teenage boy, with shaggy brown hair and tattooed cheeks, and narrow eyes and a very dog-like snarl, appearing at the Uchiha residence front door at half eleven on a Saturday morning.

"Good morning, Uchiha."

Dear God, I was never going to be able to utter those words to anyone ever again.

I stared at the boy standing on my front porch, his hands shoved into the pockets of a large grey hoodie with fluffy grey edges. Eyes, shining with what could only be described as withheld predator instincts were staring straight at me, and had I been a lesser Uchiha, I may have whimpered.

As it was, I took the very strong, _manly_ way of doing things.

I slammed the door, locked it and yanked the nearby curtains shut before running to the next room to repeat the action.

"EVERYONE HIDE!" I ordered running passed a confused Deidara and a torn Naruto. It seemed my dobe wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or if he was ready to obey my command out of his own terror.

The banging on the door started up again, only this time it was followed by Kiba's shouting.

"UCHIHA! OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

What was he, insane? Why in the hell would I do that? I valued life, thank you very much.

"OPEN THIS DOOR OR SO HELP ME I WILL BREAK IT DOWN!"

I'm sure we could pay for a replacement. Father would understand...hopefully.

"Sasuke, maybe we should just open—"

"Are you insane? Kiba will kill me, and then he will bury me and dance on my grave before kidnapping you and locking you away at the top of a tall tower in an attempt to save your virginity!" I hissed, trying to pull Naruto up the stairs.

"He's just concerned! He hasn't seen me since Monday, so he's probably just here to—"

"Uh, guys?" Deidara interrupted, standing at the kitchen doorway. We turned to him and he swallowed. "...You forgot the kitchen door."

Naruto's eyes widened and I paled before we both ran to the kitchen to bolt the door. It seemed Naruto's fear instincts were on high as well.

However, as my hand closed around the handle, ready to lock it, Kiba's face appeared in the window in the door, his face murderous.

If anyone says I screamed like a girl, they're lying and I'll have to ask for their name and social security number...so that I may properly 'dismiss' them from our fair city.

"UCHIHA!"

Kiba pushed the door open and I was sent tumbling back, almost bumping into Naruto. However, the hand grabbing the front of my shirt stopped that and instead I found myself being pulled forwards towards the door and outside...away from safety.

I twisted and tried to grab onto the door frame, my heart beating wildly in...shock, yes shock...and tried to pull myself back inside. Kiba's grip was unrelenting, however and with an extra harsh tug I was toppling out the door onto the grass with the rabid dog-er-boy following right behind.

I landed on my back, grunting before Kiba landed on top of me, straddling me. Both hands were fisted in my shirt as he started to shake me roughly. My head was flopping around like a rag doll.

"You bastard! You think I wouldn't find out where he was? You think you could hide him away and do whatever you damn well pleased to him?" Kiba was yelling, emphasising almost every word with a harsh shake.

Naruto came running outside. "Kiba! Stop! Sasuke hasn't done anything wrong!" he yelled, grabbing Kiba's shoulders and pulling him off of me. I coughed and sat up, straightening my shirt so the collar wasn't cutting into the back of my neck.

"Naruto! Are you okay? Have you had any relapses? Do you feel faint?" Kiba began firing off one question or another, hardly giving Naruto time to reply in the negative. "Has he been touching you against your will? Has he been pushing you for intimacy?" And it was here that Naruto made the mistake of hesitating slightly. That was all Kiba needed to jump on top of me and start banging my head against the ground.

"DAMN! YOU! YOU! STUPID! ASSHOLE!" Kiba roared, each bang harder than the last until I was more than certain I would have a serious concussion before twelve even rolled around.

"KIBA ENOUGH!" Naruto yelled, once more ripping him off of me. Deidara knelt down beside me, helping me sit up while Naruto began lecturing the fuming dog-lover. "Sasuke hasn't done anything against my will! He's been nothing but supportive and kind and there for me when I needed him! So stop trying to flay him alive dammit!"

Kiba glared at me before looking at Naruto. "And what about you? You didn't tell me where you were going! I spent about two hours knocking on your door yesterday because I thought you'd need some company, and then when you didn't answer I assumed you still didn't feel like talking or anything, so eventually when I grow so damn worried I pick your lock-you need new ones by the way- I go inside and find you haven't set foot in your apartment since Monday morning?.! And then, only after my mother ties me down and tells me to 'stop having a farm and calm the hell down' do I phone Sakura because YOU aren't answering and find out that you're staying in the lair of this closet-pervert!.? WHAT THE HELL DUDE!.?" Kiba finished, panting. "I THOUGHT I'D COME HERE AND FIND YOU TIED TO A BED AND BOUND AND GAGGED!"

Hmmm...that sounded like a—

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT UCHIHA!" Kiba roared, pointing a threatening finger at me. "I CAN SMELL YOUR PERVERTED THOUGHTS."

I stared at him, subconsciously backing away. Kiba looked really, _really_ mad today. It seemed that not knowing where Naruto was and then finding out he was in the house of a 'closet-pervert' as he so eloquently put it, was enough to set his short fuse on fire. Now that I got a look at him, I saw the dark circles under his eyes indicating a lack of sleep, and felt just a little bit guilty.

The guy really cared about Naruto's wellbeing. Maybe he was a bit too overprotective, but that was just who he was.

"Kiba..." Naruto murmured, looking quite guilty himself. "I'm sorry I made you worry. I didn't feel like talking for the first day here, and yesterday I stayed in bed for most of the day until Sakura dragged me out for some hobo-healing therapy." Kiba's face at that made me smirk. "And then the Uchiha family was trying to cheer me up. I just didn't really think about what you might be feeling...I'm sorry." Naruto finished.

Kiba let out an explosive sigh, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He paced around a bit, before letting his hands fall to his sides and looking at the ground. After a moment of contemplation, he looked up at Naruto.

"I forgive you. It's okay, I can understand." He turned to me, and I promise you all that I didn't flinch back. "As for you...well...I still think you're a pervert and I'm keeping my eyes on you, but you were there for Naruto. So thanks." He shrugged, placing his hands in his pocket and looking around with a curious expression. "I kind of expected the Uchiha's back yard to be dead with a few gravestones. I'm surprised."

Naruto and Deidara snorted and I glared at the brunet, rubbing a hand over the forming bump on my head.

"Damn mutt." I mumbled so that only I could hear.

"What is going on here?"

We turned to see Itachi looking at us from the kitchen doorway. His hair was dishevelled, his black night shirt was rumpled, his dark blue sweat pants were sagging on his hips and his skin was that pasty pale one got when waking up in a dark room after a night of drinking.

In short, he looked like Baby Death personified.

I glanced over at Kiba and almost grinned at seeing him. If he had had a tail, it would be firmly tucked between his legs right now.

"Itachi, this is our...friend...Inuzuka Kiba." I said, before turning to Kiba and smirking. "Kiba, that is my older brother Itachi."

Kiba sent a glance to Itachi, giving him a weak smile.

"Hi there..."

Itachi just grunted and turned around, walking back into the house.

When he was safely out of sight, Kiba frowned. "He's charming." He drawled sarcastically.

I smirked, walking past him and heading inside while the others followed. "He's also hung-over and deadly."

* * *

I couldn't believe it.

Not only did Kiba have the gall to come to my home in the morning and threaten me bodily harm for something I DIDN'T plan-alone, anyway- and then if that's not bad enough, he insists that, after all the '_emotional turmoil_' I caused him, I was to allow him to stay for the day so that he could '_assess the environment_' to see if it was '_Naruto-Friendly_'.

How the hell do you make something 'Naruto-Friendly'?

What, did you put a bowl of ramen down, a cup of water and a newspaper and you're all set to have your very own Naruto?

...

Naruto in a collar? With a leash?

Hmmm...this might turn out to be promis—

"My perv-senses are tingling!" Kiba growled from beside me. "Whatever you're planning...DON'T!"

I sighed, crossing my arms and sinking deeper into the dreaded and wonderful couch in our den. Kiba was sitting beside me on the left and Naruto was sitting on my right.

It was about two in the afternoon by now, and we'd spent the entire day showing Kiba around the house while he checked every crevice and corner for only he knows what, as well as sniffing everything in my room. It was like he was searching for drugs or something! Honestly, what he expected to find, I have no idea.

Currently, we were watching Mirrors 2, courtesy of Itachi winning a bet.

The bet?

Well, he said that we wouldn't be able to watch it without getting scared.

We, as in I, said he was a dick who didn't know shit.

And so now we were watching it without getting scared.

Well...that's what I'd hoped for anyway. However, it seemed I failed to remember one very important detail.

What was that detail, you ask?

It was the simple, teeny tiny fact...that both the idiots on either side of me had a problem with horrors.

"Oh my- WHOA! She...she..." Kiba pressed his hands over his mouth, wide-eyed. Naruto was clenching the duvet covering our legs tightly with one hand while the other methodically shoved popcorn into his mouth. His wide-blue eyes were glued to the screen, but they were shining with fear.

I was slightly concerned he'd end up choking on pop-corn the next time the ghost popped up.

"Oh no!...Oh no!...Her heads going to come off!...How is she-OH NO!" Both the idiots writhed and cringed beside me as the woman on screen got her head severed off. I stared impassively as the blood sprayed out across the shower behind her.

Deidara walked in at the moment, his eyes widening as he saw the screen.

"Whoa! That's like...The Period from HADES, or something." He said, nodding towards the blood spreading out from under the woman.

I snorted while Kiba and Naruto made disgusted, nervous noises before pausing the movie.

"What's up Deidara?" Naruto asked, turning away from the screen. Deidara walked over and ruffled his hair.

"I got to go now, so I'm just coming to say goodbye. I hope you're feeling better, Naruto." He said, and Naruto smiled.

"Yeah I am. Thank you so much for your gift last night. It was...amazing." he sighed the last word.

Kiba looked between the blonds', eyes wide. "What gift? What was amazing? Why did you say it like that? Oh God what've you done?.!"

I reached over and smacked him upside the head. "Deidara creates fireworks and he made a special firework show for Naruto and set it off last night. Relax."

Kiba slumped in the couch, his knees sinking deeper into the cushions. "Sorry. I'm still just a bit worked up over it. You have no idea how many bad scenarios went through my mind when I couldn't find you." He mumbled, his chin pressing on the cushiony back of the couch.

Naruto and I shared a glance, with him looking guilty and me...well, I felt a little guilty on the inside...I'm sure.

"Sorry Kibbles."

"Hn."

"Bastard, and don't call me Kibbles!" Kiba grumbled. Deidara laughed and waved as he walked out.

The three of us returned to the movie, and once more I was subjected to watching with two cringing, gasping and screaming idiots beside me.

When the movie finally ended, Itachi came waltzing into den with a smug smile on his face. He took one look at us before smirking evilly at me.

"Looks like I won, little brother."

"Stuff you."

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

They day had passed by so quickly, and soon we were standing at the Uchiha's front door saying farewells to Kiba. After the whole 'stop-Kiba-from-tearing-Sasuke-to-shreds' period when he first came, I was really glad he was there. It felt great to hang out with him again, and he made me laugh a lot.

As sadistic as it may have sounded, I rather enjoyed watching the silent wars between Sasuke and Kiba. Especially when Sasuke seemed to lose.

However, when Sasuke won it was also funny. I still laughed at the memory of Sasuke pulling the rug out from under Itachi's feet in the hallway at one point. After un-sticking his face from the floor, Itachi had turned to us with the darkest glare I'd seen, his scowl easily asking who had a death wish.

Sasuke had pointed to Kiba and said "It was his idea. I was just being a good host."

I had never known Kiba could make such girly whimpering sounds like he did in that hallway.

"Well, it's been marvellous." Kiba said, grinning at us. "But I must be off before my mom sends out the dogs to search for me."

Mikoto laughed. "Oh you're so funny, Kiba-kun." She said warmly.

Both Kiba and I turned to her, expressions straight and spoke together.

"He's not joking."

"I'm not joking."

Mikoto blinked, and all the Uchihas shared a looked of, dare I say it, bewilderment.

I turned back to Kiba and smiled, reaching out to bump fists with him. "Thanks for coming over man. It was great seeing you."

Kiba nodded, slapping his hand against mine. "Yeah, you too. Glad to see you're okay dude."

I grinned, stepping closer and scrunching my face up in fake sadness. "I'm going to..I'm going to miss you man." I said, adding a wobble to my voice.

Kiba sniffed exaggeratedly, also stepping up and holding his arms open. "Me too, Kit. M-me...TOO!" he wailed the last world, pulling me into a tight hug and sobbing dramatically into my shoulder. I held back a grin when I caught a glance of the Uchihas faces. Of course, Sasuke already knew us well enough to know our act, so he just shook his head, smirking.

Mikoto was looking concerned, Fugaku looked..._lost_ and Itachi looked slightly disturbed.

"Oh Naruto!"

"Oh Kiba!"

"I love you man!"

"I love you too man!"

"No homo, though."

"Of course dude."

Dramatically, Kiba pulled himself away, blinking his eyes rapidly. "Well, I'd better go." He slowly started to walk away, letting his hand slowly slide off my own until we were both reaching out to each other as he walked off. "FAREWELL, MY GOOD UCHIHAS!" Kiba yelled before he turned the corner.

I waited three seconds.

"...Hn. Dobe."

Then I laughed.

Alot.

It was later now, and Mikoto was busy preparing for dinner while the rest of us sat around the table, chatting.

"I think it would be best to tie him up. That way he can't sneak into Naruto's room and do something inappropriate," Itachi said seriously, leaning back in his chair.

"Shut up Itachi! I wouldn't do that!" Sasuke growled.

"Itachi, I'm not going to tie your brother up," Fugaku sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Hn. Well then, Father, any trauma Naruto has after tonight is on your head."

"Oi, I'm not made of glass. I doubt Sasuke could do anything to traumatise me," I said indignantly.

"Hn. Dobe." Sasuke smiled.

"Although, if he took his pants off and revealed the fact he was a girl after all, I might be scarred for life," I continued, grinning evilly.

"DOBE!"

I laughed while Sasuke fumed next to me, jabbing me in the side angrily.

"However, you seem to be a lot better." Itachi said suddenly, his tone serious. "You don't flinch away from contact anymore like you did the first few days."

I paused, turning to him. "...You guys noticed that?"

"Hn. Of course."

"Oh...sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? It was perfectly understandable," Mikoto said from the stove, smiling over her shoulder at me. "You don't need to apologize for anything!"

I nodded, smiling slightly before turning back to Itachi.

"I guess I have gotten better. I mean, sometimes I remember what happened and I get a little edgy but..." I let my eyes travel around the room, taking in all their faces before landing on Sasuke. My smile widened. "...I guess being around people who care for me has really helped. I'm not afraid or anything when I'm here."

Mikoto smiled warmly before she turned to the stove, now humming a tune. Fugaku cleared his throat gruffly, shifting in his chair.

"Well...Good." he said, and I held back a laugh at the slight awkwardness and warmth in his voice and his eyes.

Itachi just smirked, leaning back in his seat a bit more until he was balancing on the tips.

Sasuke was looking at me, his face relaxed.

Suddenly his head spun around to Itachi.

"BANG!"

Itachi jumped at Sasuke's shout, and the chair legs snapped, sending him toppling backwards. He clattered to the floor with a loud grunt while Sasuke turned back to face me.

The look on his face was the equivalent to a three year old watching their annoying nanny get fired and yelled at after a very well played out act against her.

Fugaku and I stared at Itachi as his arms and legs flailed in the air as he struggled to get up from the awkward seating on the floor. Sasuke was still looking away, his lips twitching evilly.

When Itachi finally managed to get up, he turned to Mikoto and his eyes grew wide. I gaped.

Itachi was pulling a puppy dog face!

"Mom! Did you see what Sasuke just did to me?" He said.

I scooted back in my chair.

Was Itachi...was he adding a wobble to his voice?

I think I fell into a coma this morning, and somehow entered the twilight zone.

I looked towards the doorway to the kitchen, narrowing my eyes, and waited. Sasuke broke away from his evil toddler impression to look at me curiously.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for Edward Cullen to come prancing through that door trailing sparkles and singing 'I feel pretty'." I replied calmly.

Sasuke stared at me for a long time before I sighed and turned back to the rest of the room.

"Never mind. He must have been kidnapped by Dr. Evil and used to make designer sparkly evil outfits."

Sasuke scooted his chair away.

Mikoto spun around from the stove, holding a steaming pot of chicken stew. She carefully dished up for us all before sitting down at her own chair.

Dinner was comfortable, with small chatter every now and then.

"Oi Teme..."

"Hn?"

"You owe me ramen."

"...Hn."

* * *

Dinner passed and it was time for bed. I stepped out of the bathroom, stretching after having showered and changed into some proper night clothes when someone spoke.

"Naruto."

I jumped a bit, and turned to see Fugaku standing in the hall, arms crossed and an expression on his face that made me slightly anxious.

"Uh...Yes sir?"

"I need to talk to you for a moment. Please follow me." Fugaku said, and led the way down the hall. I swallowed, wondering what demise he had planned for me before following him. He led me all the way down the stairs and to the room I knew was his office. Thoughts of 'death by stapler' and 'suffocation via fresh paper fumes' filled my head before Fugaku motioned for me to sit.

I placed my hands on my lap, wondering what he needed to talk to me about.

Thoughts of my past came sweeping into my head. I saw faces, blurred by time, talking.

"_Uzumaki? Get out of my house! Get out!"_

"_We don't want you near our children."_

"_Please leave. You're not welcome in my store."_

"Naruto?"

I blinked, realizing I'd been zoning out to things in my past, and looked at Fugaku. He was looking at me with slight concern.

"You okay, boy?"

I laughed, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment at having zoned out.

"Yeah, sorry. Just spacing out. You said you had something to talk to me about?" I asked straightening up.

Fugaku nodded, resting his arms on the desk and leaning forward. "Yes. I realize it's not something you'd like to think about, but we can't ignore it." He sighed and stayed silent for a moment. I waited patiently, wondering what this was about. Finally, he looked up again. "It's about the court case with Kabuto. You're presence and statement is going to be needed...and there's a high chance that you'll have to see him. Will you be alright?"

I stared at him, taking it in.

In truth, I had known I would have to face Kabuto at some point in order to be free from him for good. But I hadn't wanted to think about it so soon.

I swallowed, looking around while my thoughts spun in my mind like spider webs, forming confusing patterns that didn't seem to make sense. My fists clenched against my pants, as I remembered what he'd done to me. Just thinking of his face filled me with disgust, anger and slight fear. However, the most prominent feeling was anger. I smirked inside. It was funny how after spending time with the Uchihas, I'd grown more into their ways of dealing with things.

Sighing, I turned back to Fugaku and gave him a convincing smile. "I'll be okay sir. Just as long as Kabuto doesn't try to talk to me or make direct contact...I'll be fine."

Fugaku nodded. "Of course he won't. I won't allow it. And if he tries, you can be sure he'll be dealt with immediately. If not by me and my people, I'm quite certain both of my sons will have a good hand in his punishment." The pride in Fugaku's eyes at the mention of his son's fiery wills made me shiver slightly at the intensity. This man was so proud of his family, and the feeling would spread out and fill everyone else around him. I couldn't help but feel the pride and agree with it.

Suddenly, Fugaku looked me in the eyes and his lips twitched upwards in an expression that made my eyes widen.

"And of course, I'm very proud of you too."

I swallowed, and opened my mouth, only to realize I wasn't sure what to say. Fugaku's lips twitched even higher before he continued.

"And I know that your father...and your mother, would be incredibly proud of you too."

My head lowered, and I let out a choked laugh.

"Damn you Uchihas..." I mumbled, wiping at my eyes. "I s-swear you guys enjoy making me c-cry." I laughed through the tears as my hands rubbed them away.

Fugaku placed a hand on my shoulder and patted it. "Don't worry. By the end of this, you'll get the same sadistic pleasure we do."

I snorted, shoulders shaking as I got control of my rampant emotions. Honestly, I was getting tired of being so girly and emotional.

"Now then...the next few weeks will be very busy for you. I plan to have this court case dealt with as soon as possible. At the same time, I don't want you falling behind on your schooling while you're away. I've already contacted some old friends who agreed to stop by to give you some extra tutoring so you don't miss anything. Also, just as a precaution, a therapist will be coming to visit in a day or two to help you through any remaining issues that you wish to cover. On top of that, I've heard quite a bit about the conditions of your apartment from Sasuke. Rest assured that when you wish to return to your apartment, everything will be fixed, working and well maintained."

I gaped as Fugaku listed off all these things with a tone one used to discuss the weather. My eyes grew wider and wider until I was jumping out of my seat. Fugaku looked up, raising an eyebrow in a perfect Uchiha question.

"Is something wrong?"

I mouthed soundless words before my mental self forcefully booted my voice box into its office to work.

"W-wrong? Well, no...but, I mean...why? Why are you doing all of this? I really appreciate it, but...you don't have to. I'll catch up on my schoolwork and...and the therapist...why would you do this?" I finished. It seemed my voice box was still half asleep, obviously not reading the script correctly and only getting bits in.

Fugaku tilted his head back and gave me a plain look. "Silly boy. I will do anything for my family. It's as simple as that."

Well that shut me up pretty damn quickly.

Fugaku chuckled, undoubtedly at whatever expression was adorning my face. His features softened slightly as he rested his arms on the table and laced his fingers together.

"I had thought you would've figured it out by now, but I suppose that I should say it clearly. You're a lot like Minato in that respect. That man was a genius, but only when things were given to him straight forward." Fugaku sighed nostalgically before his eyes locked onto mine, pinning me there. "The moment you first said 'hello' to my son, you were an important person. And the first time you walked through our front door...well, you had finally come home."

And so ladies and gentleman, in the study of one Uchiha Fugaku, I sat down, curled my legs to my chest, said "No fair, Uchiha," and cried for a minute before Mikoto came in and smothered me in love.

And in that moment, where I was wrapped in a hug, and Mikoto asked what Fugaku had 'done this time to make a poor little boy cry' and Sasuke and Itachi peeked in, looking concerned and curious, I knew that the world was perfect.

And I was finally where I belonged.

* * *

**;w; Naruto's happy! ...Let's all celebrate with FLUTES adn TROMBONES and garlands of fresh...HERBS!**

**Well, how did you like it? *nervous look* w-was...was it worth the wait?**

**Kao: Of course not. IT NEVER IS!**

**Juura: D:**

**Kam: Ignore him, sensei, he's being a dick. I'm sure the fans will be very happy with the chapter.**

**Juura: :D**

**Kao: Or they'll stop reading and you'll never get another review again.**

**Juura: D:**

**Kam: Shut up bro, she's sensitive (hardly)! Sensei, they love you!**

**Juura: :D**

**Kao: ... I like pink.**

**Juura: D:**

**Kam: Huh?**

**Juura: :D**

**Kao: I knew it. Her face is stuck on those two expressions. She wasn't even listening.**

**Kam: Oh...oops.**

**Juura: D: ... :D**

**_PREVIEW!_**

_TIME-SKIP! Three weeks after this day, Naruto is once more back in his apartment, dealing with life like usual. The troubles of before have been put behind and now he deals with his peers at school. Things have definitely gotten better, but there is still much hatred towards him. But he's dealing with it. In the meantime, the friends hear some rather interesting news about a fellow classmate._

**~This story is sponsored by your reviews!~**_  
_


	32. Chapter 32

**Hey Everyone! This is earlier than I thought it'd be, but I got a burst of inspiration and managed to finish this chapter relatively quickly! But the inspiration burst died down so don't expect the next chapter to come out quite as soon...unless, of course, your reviews give me a burst of inspiration again... But yeah, just saying.**

**Kao: *is reading* hmm...no, no this guy is doing it all wrong. He's supposed to put his- *notices camera is on him* OH! I-it's my turn? *hurriedly puts away Icha Icha Yaoi Paradise* Ehehe...uhhh...ehem. Right, guys...Uhm if you're interested in seeing upcoming projects, Sensei has put an update on her profile. Also, she's gotten very hyped about a new-kinda old- story she's working on, and a lot of her current inspiration is directed towards that story. You might recognize the name... 'Agent Duck-Butt'! ...Actually, she drew a Teaser Movie Poster for it. There is a link to the poster on her profile near the bottom. Sensei is very hyped about it and she's been writing a lot on that story.**

**Kam: She's still working on Online! and RS-2, but she's also working on A-BD. (annotations ftw!) However, she's decided she's not going to post that story until it is actually complete. That way she can have regular updates! ^-^**

**Kao: Yeah, that's right...aaaandd...uh...Yeah, I think that's all for now, eh Little K?**

**Kam: -_- I hate you.**

**Kao: I lovels you too. :3**

**Juura: WAIT!...Everyone, in case you are the type who don't want to read the previews, then just know there has been about a 3 week timeskip! So don't get confused too much k? That is all!**

**Warnings: slight language(I think) bitchy girls...Itachi being evil...yeeeeaaaah...**

**Disclaimer: 'Naruto? Sasuke? What are you doing? Get the hell out of my closet-...on second thought, stay right there! Lemme just grab my camera!'...But sadly I don't own them yet. :'(**

**Online!  
**

* * *

'_I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare! I'm just a kid and I know that it's not fair! Nobody cares-_'

The rest of the song was cut off when my hand slammed down onto the snooze button with little mercy. Growling at being woken by that song of _all_ songs, I buried my face in my pillow and breathed out slowly. After this, I arched my back to stretch before pushing myself up into a sitting position. Blinking sleep out of my eyes I yawned and scratched at an annoying itch on my cheek while everything came into focus.

It had been three weeks or so since Fugaku had spoken to me in his study-and made me cry- and I was back in my apartment.

Or as I liked to call it, my 'week-house'.

I went to the Uchiha house for the weekends, and it was easy to say I considered that place home rather than this apartment. Of course, I was still fond of this house. I'd grown up here after all.

I'd stayed with the Uchiha's for the whole week before I decided I should head back to my place. Well, that was the plan, but I ended up coming to visit the Uchiha household for most of that week too.

I had finally gotten over the incident, if not for some slight hesitance to strangers, but that was to be expected. At least now I could walk in a crowd without thinking everyone was after therapist had really helped me get over any of the fears I'd had, not to mention deal with a few other problems I'd had. I'd gone back to school on Monday this week, and couldn't help but be ever grateful to Fugaku for getting me some tutoring. I swear, it was almost as if the teachers made an extra effort to teach the kids while I was gone.

Of course, when Fugaku had said the tutor was an old friend and someone I'd be comfortable with, I had still had a slight heart attack when Kakashi-sensei strolled through the door, orange book of erotica in hand and a case full of assignments and worksheets.

"Kakashi-sensei? You're going to tutor me?" I had gaped and Kakashi gave me that weird smile behind his mask.

"Not at all. I'm going to sit on a comfortable couch, reading my book while you sit on a less comfortable chair doing worksheets that will show you how to bullshit your way through school and college, and maybe if you pay close attention, life itself."

The Uchihas had very weird friends.

But despite his words, Kakashi had dutifully taught me everything I was missing at school. Even things that weren't his subject of history, he was teaching me easily. I'd gaped at him when he pulled out a maths textbook and after my questioning he shrugged, opened the book and said "Mizuki-sensei says 'hi and he'll lock you in a box of shame if you slack off on his work'."

On second thought, the Uchihas didn't have weird friends. Our town was just filled with crazy people.

But either way, I'd been glad for the tutoring when I went back to school. I could tell the teachers were impressed when I showed I was up to date. Especially when Asuma-sensei pulled out a pop quiz and I aced it, thank you very much.

It seemed that once he put the erotica away, Kakashi actually _could_ teach.

I stood up, stretching once more before padding over to the wall with my eyes half closed. Pressing my ear against the plaster, I listened for a moment before sighing. I swung my arm back before hitting the wall, causing a very loud thud to reverberate in my room.

"Time to wake up dog-breath!" I yelled through the wall, and pressed my ear against it again to listen as Kiba fell out of his bed and groaned.

"Yeah...Got it..." Kiba called back, his voice laced with sleep.

When I'd gotten back to my apartment, Kiba had shown me how we could communicate through the walls pretty easily. Somehow the agreement of 'whoever woke up on a school day first was to make sure the other did too' started.

I nodded in satisfaction that I'd fulfilled my duty and turned to head into the bathroom.

When the hot water hit my skin I sighed happily, relishing in the feeling of my muscles relaxing under the onslaught.

When Fugaku had said my apartment would be well maintained, he'd really meant everything. When I'd gotten back, it was to find my floors and walls redone and painted, my plumbing fixed and several new items. A new bed which folded into a couch, a desk that wasn't about to crack under any extra weight, a new alarm radio and a fridge. And then, of course, there was the small T.V and game console in the corner. Apparently that was my belated birthday gift from the Uchihas.

Needless to say, I was a very, very happy boy when I came to my week-house.

I'd protested at first with all the new things. After all how much did it cost, and how could I accept that, and how could I repay them and the usual such things.

Let it be known that when an Uchiha gives you something because they wanted to, you are not allowed to refuse or feel bad about it because they will kill you slowly.

Scrubbing myself with soap, it took me a few minutes to hear that my phone was ringing. I cursed and quickly rinsed before turning the water off, grabbing a fluffy orange towel-courtesy of Mikoto- and quickly made my way to my bed to grab my phone.

"Hello?"

"Dobe, dry your hair."

"What? How do you-?"

"Look left, dumbass."

I looked to the left and jumped at seeing Sasuke waving to me from outside my window. The smirk on his face rivalled that of Itachi when he was in a 'good' mood.

"T-Teme!" I stuttered, slamming the phone shut and stalking to the front door. I unlocked it quickly and yanked it open to see a smug looking Sasuke calmly tucking his phone into his school shirt pocket.

"Dobe." He greeted. "Hurry up and get ready." He ordered, pushing past me.

I grumbled a bit but followed him back and went over to my dresser. Luckily I'd rinsed before I got out of the shower so I just needed to get dressed. As I was pulling out my uniform, another towel fell onto my head. I twitched when it began rubbing across my hair.

"...Sasuke." I said warningly.

"That's my name."

"Teme."

"You flatter me so."

"Bastard."

"You've met my father."

"Asshole."

"At your service."

I sighed, easily sensing the huge smirk on his pale face as he continued to dry my hair for me. Once he was done, he pulled the towel away with a flourish, the edges whipping my cheeks.

"Ouch." I mumbled, rubbing to relieve the slight sting. "Is that any way to treat your boyfriend?" I asked.

"You know as well as I do that we are not a cuddly, mushy, lovey-dovey-sweet-honey-bunny couple. You're a guy; I'm not going to treat you like a princess." Sasuke smirked, and I returned it.

"Likewise, asshole."

"Wouldn't want it any other way, dipshit."

"As riveting as this conversation appears to be, we need to get to school." Kiba's voice called from behind the wall. "So hurry up!"

"Yeah, yeah!" I called back while Sasuke snickered and leant against the wall. I scowled at him. "Do you mind?" I asked, holding my pants close.

Sasuke shook his head lightly, smiling. "Not in the slightest."

Sighing at the asshole's...well, asshole-ish-ness, I turned my back to him and started to put my boxers on. Sliding them up my legs, I ignored the soft wolf whistle from behind me as the towel fell away just before they covered my ass.

"That was enjoyable."

"Shut up."

Sasuke smirked while I continued to get dressed. I was buttoning up my shirt when his arms rested on my shoulders and his face nuzzled the back of my neck.

"I do not believe we have said good morning." He said softly.

I sighed and smiled slightly, turning around to face him and leaning forward until our lips brushed.

"Good morning, Teme."

"Morning Dobe."

* * *

The walk to school that morning was filled with Kiba and Sasuke having a go at each other over me. Kiba had lightened up considerably over the few weeks, and seemed to be giving Sasuke a bit more perverted leeway, but he was still adamant about protecting my _ultimate innocence_, as he called it.

Sasuke and I were happy with the new leeway-Sasuke especially- but we were still going relatively slow. The furthest we had gone was light touching, and most of it was experimental and for finding our boundaries.

We arrived at the school gates with Sasuke trying to melt Kiba's face with his glare and vice versa. I shook my head at their antics and continued walked while they followed. As we passed a group of guys one of the scoffed.

"Looks like the monster's back to stay." He sneered.

I held back a laugh when the two face-melting glares of my friends switched from each other to the guy. He flinched violently and scooted closer to his friends warily.

Placing my hands on both my friend's shoulders, I urged them forward.

"Come on guys, just leave it. It's not worth it." I said.

"Hn."

"Grr."

And with that we were off again. Sasuke was walking right beside me, our shoulders bumping and our hands brushing. Kiba stayed close to my left, but with a bit more breathing space.

"Teme, people might suspect something." I mumbled when a passing girl gave us a strange look.

"So? You do care?" Sasuke asked quietly, glaring at another girl who squeaked and backed away.

"Well...not really, but aren't you worried about your reputation?" I asked looking up at him. Sasuke scoffed loudly, drawing several looks which he quickly banished with a well placed scowl.

"I couldn't give less of a rats ass about 'reputation'." He said and I grinned.

"Alright then." And with that I grabbed his hand tightly. Almost immediately, he squeezed back and we continued down the hall this way. The amount of stares we drew was almost comical, yet no one made any move to comment. Then again, I figured that both Sasuke and Kiba's glares combined probably took care of them.

When we reached the maths classroom, Sakura and Shikamaru looked up from talking. Sakura beamed at us and Shikamaru raised a tired eyebrow in question. I just shrugged and he returned it.

"So you're coming out now?" Sakura asked excitedly and Sasuke nodded, bringing my hand up to his lips briefly. The small affectionate gesture was enough to make Sakura giggle and swoon slightly.

"At long last, I can fan girl over the two of you." She sighed and then laughed at our horrified expressions.

When the bell rang we filed into class and took our seats. Sakura continued to congratulate me as we sat down and waited for Mizuki-sensei to appear.

Sure enough, five minutes later the door slid open and he walked in carrying a stack of papers.

"Okay, runts. I spent the weekend devising this new revision plan for all of you, so you'd better pay attention to it." He said, placing the pile of papers on his desk and turning to us all. One student in the back snorted.

"You spent the entire weekend doing maths?" he asked. "Have you no life?"

Mizuki growled. "Just because I don't go out and get wasted and then turned down for sex," he smirked at the boy who blushed and grumbled, "doesn't mean I lack a life."

A girl near the front of the class raised her hand. "Sir, just out of curiosity, do you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

Mizuki sat down, still smirking. "No, I do not. Nor do I want to be in a relationship."

"Why not sir?" the girl asked. The entire class was paying attention now, and I was grinning slightly. Mizuki-sensei had rapidly become one of the cooler teachers in my books. He hummed, fiddling with the red bandana on his head.

"Because when it comes to relationships with women, one plus one equals three, sometimes four, and if you're a _really _unlucky sod, five or six. I for one like my numbers to stay the way they are." He replied, leaning back.

Sakura snickered behind me before raising her hand. "You don't like children, do you?" she asked.

Mizuki grinned. "Not in the slightest. Little gaggle of monsters, the lot of them." He said, shuddering.

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow. "And yet you're a teacher?" he queried.

Mizuki hummed. "You're all young and easily manipulated, making you the perfect candidates for my minion army." He said simply.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You realize, sir, that you just openly admitted to plans of brainwashing us?" he asked, the shadow of a smirk on his lips.

Mizuki looked directly at him. "Yes, _and_? Is there a problem?"

Sasuke's smirk took form. "No sir."

The class erupted into small chuckles while Mizuki nodded. "Okay, someone come up and hand these out-" the door sliding open caught everyone's attention, and Mizuki raised an eyebrow at his visitor. "Kakashi? What brings you to my classroom?" he asked, shifting in his seat.

Kakashi chuckled as he stepped in. "I just thought I'd check in on your class of minion army candidates." He said, causing another bout of laughter to echo in the class.

I turned to share a look with my friends, and a grin stretched my face when Mizuki grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like '_My_ minions'.

"But seriously why are you here?" Mizuki asked. "I was about to give them a new revision sheet." He motioned to the stack on his desk.

Kakashi nodded, producing a sheet of paper from...I wasn't sure I wanted to know where he pulled it from, since I couldn't see any pockets.

"Yes, here's a paper I need your signature on." The masked teacher said, placing it down. Mizuki looked over it, nodded at a few things before reaching for a pen. On a side glance, he looked at Kakashi.

"Out of curiosity, are you still reading those books?"

"Which books?"

"Your erotica novels." Mizuki stated bluntly.

The girls in the class erupted into stifled giggles and blushing faces while a good number of the boys gave leers and smug grins. Kakashi scoffed and crossed his arms.

"I'll have you know I've found a very lovely book of history to read!" he declared before producing a small red book from seemingly nowhere once more. Mizuki blinked in surprise, looking impressed and interested as he took the book.

"Really? You're reading a normal historical..." I blinked. Mizuki's face was the pure definition of 'you're fucking kidding me, right?'

"Hm?" Kakashi hummed, smiling behind his mask. Mizuki looked up at him, face blank yet disbelieving.

"The History of Erotica? Are you serious?"

Kakashi chuckled. "It's an interesting book."

"_How _are you still employed?" Mizuki asked in amazement. He scribbled on the paper Kakashi had given him before roughly shoving that and the red book into Kakashi's chest, making the man grunt. "Please remove your presence from my classroom. You're a bad influence on my minions." He finished the sentence with a push that made Kakashi stumble back a step or two.

The masked teacher laughed good naturedly, waving his paper and red book in farewell.

"Many thanks Mizu-chan!"

"Eat fossilized faeces and die."

I coughed. "And you call him a bad influence." I mumbled into my palm. Mizuki sent me a look.

"If we're done with smart comments, let's get on with the lesson shall we?" he said and the class murmured agreement.

* * *

I hummed lazily as I walked down the hall. It was break time now and most of the students were outside. The rest of my group was also sitting under the shade of a tree, near the low lying wall in our school yard. I had run off to the bathroom quick, and at that point Kiba and Sasuke had been involved in a rather interesting battle over the last cherry tomato in Sasuke's salad. It seemed Kiba had craved tomatoes the whole morning and saw fit to relieve Sasuke of the last one.

Of course, Sasuke would never give up his precious tomato to the likes of Kiba, and so a raging battle of forks trying to stab the red ball ensued.

I chuckled, wondering who had won, or if they were still stabbing away and blocking each other's attacks.

As I was passing the girls bathroom, I almost tripped at the loud burst of snide laughter from inside. I paused, clearly hearing the voices inside.

"Ha! Are you serious?"

"Oh my gosh, what a lame thing to do!"

"You're such a geek!"

There was more laughter and I frowned when I heard hurried footsteps and what sounded like soft whimpers.

"Aw look, she's running away!"

"Heh, what a snivelling loser."

The door banged open and I jumped in shock when a girl came running out, almost smacking into me. She had tears streaking her pale face and her long black hair swayed behind her. She stopped in shock, large lavender eyes widening when she saw me standing there. Her face went red and her eyes watered terribly before she gave a squeaky 'Sorry' and darted off down the hall, her footsteps echoing.

I blinked before turning to the door when the laughing voices grew louder.

Soon, Karin and her gang of friends stepped out, still laughing.

"Honestly, that's such a lame thing."

"Stupid girl, she makes us look bad."

"Heh. I bet she's still a virgin and can't even get a kiss."

The growl escaped me before I realized it, and the girls turned to look at me sharply, haughty smirks appearing on their faces when they saw who it was.

"Oh look, it's the school moron." One of them said, placing her hands on her hips mockingly.

"And here I was hoping he'd gotten shot at some point while he was gone." Another sighed, her eyes glinting evilly.

"Oh well, we can keep praying can't we?" Karin said and the girls laughed, their high pitched voices grating on my nerves.

Can someone pass me the Bitch-Beater?

"What did that girl ever do to you for you to treat her that way, huh?" I snapped, narrowing my eyes at them.

The girl on the right, who I recognized as Kin from my biology class raised a brow. "Oh? The monster wants to know about the Hyuuga Loser?" she said teasingly. The smirk on her lips was making me think of all the lovely ways I could wipe it off with the help of a baseball bat.

"Hyuuga? You mean Hyuuga Hinata?" I asked, blinking as I recognized the girl at last. She was in a few of my classes, but I'd never heard her speak much let alone seen her do anything bad. She was a poster child for 'the shy, quiet and angelic' type.

"Yeah. Turns out she's gotten herself a rather pathetic and lame hobby." Karin sniffed. "Honestly, she's a disgrace to real girls."

I raised an eyebrow. "If you're the example of a 'real girl' then thank God for disgraces, because they're your only saving grace." I sneered, and felt satisfied at the reddening of their faces.

"You jerk!"

"How dare you!"

"Stupid monster."

"Yes, yes, I know I'm prettier than you." I waved off their insults, grinning when they just got even angrier. "But that's not the point. The point is, you guys had better not do anything more to hurt Hyuuga when she doesn't deserve it." I warned.

I hardly knew Hinata, but damn I could relate. From what I did know of her, she was a kind person who wouldn't hurt a fly. Whatever these girls were teasing her for, it was definitely not worth it and she didn't deserve it.

"Oh? And what will a loser monster like you do?" Karin asked snottily, huffing out.

I tilted my head up, thinking. What could I do really? As much as it appealed to me, I couldn't exactly shove their faces in a toilet to teach them a lesson.

And yes, I realized maybe I was thinking rather bad and sadistic thoughts, but I spent almost two weeks living with Uchiha Itachi and company. It was to be expected.

I thought for a moment more before turning to them, opening my mouth but before I could there were more footsteps and someone came walking around the corner.

"Dobe! There you are." Sasuke said grumpily as he walked. Judging by his face, I could tell what had caused the bad mood. Placing my hands in my pockets, I gave him a wry smile.

"Aah...Kiba got the last tomato then?" I asked, smirking a bit when Sasuke mumbled about 'stupid, annoying, persistent mutts'.

"Dobe what's taking you?"

I turned to look at the girls, rolling my eyes at the way they were staring at Sasuke with hearts in their eyes. Even if I was dating him, and admitted he was handsome, I still didn't see the need for _total_ _adoration_.

"Four-eyes here and her two lackeys were teasing Hyuuga Hinata about something, and made her cry and run off. I was warning them not to do it again." I said simply.

"LIAR!" Karin shrieked, pointing a finger at me. "Sasuke-kun, he's lying! He was the one teasing Hinata and he made her cry! We were telling him to stop being a jerk!" The two girls nodded in agreement with their leader, sending malicious looks at me.

I raised an eyebrow. It didn't surprise me that Karin had pulled something like this. I'd been blamed for things I didn't do before.

Sasuke sent an unimpressed look to the girls, and their smiles dulled a bit. Then he turned to me, looking me right in the eyes. "Naruto, who's telling the truth?" he asked in his 'class rep' voice.

I looked directly back at him. "I am."

Sasuke stared at me for a moment before he nodded. "I know, just had to fulfil the whole 'double checking' duty." He said and I nodded in understanding. Sasuke turned to the fuming girls and scowled. "That type of behaviour is not acceptable, and if I hear you've been tormenting a fellow classmate again, the principal will be notified and you will be punished." He said darkly before turning to walk away. His hand made a gesture for me to follow and I quickly did. Before we could get more than five steps away though, Karin's shrieking voice called out again.

"How could you believe that _monster_ over us?.!" She screeched.

Sasuke froze, and I saw his body tense. Sighing inside, I quickly reached up and rubbed the back of his neck calmingly.

"Just ignore it Sasuke."

"No, I will not 'just ignore it'." He said, turning cold eyes onto the girls. I sighed out loud this time, placing my hand back in my pocket and waiting for Sasuke to finish his little rant and calm down. It's not as if the girls hadn't asked for it.

"Now you three listen very, very carefully. I will not repeat myself after this. First of all, you will never, ever talk like that about anyone ever again, especially not Naruto. If I catch wind of you saying anything like that about or to him ever again, you can bet your fake breasts that the punishment will be sever and I'll personally see to it that you are never able to walk out in public without being humiliated again. Second, I will always believe Naruto's word over the lies and whimpers of a bunch of blithering idiots like you, because Naruto's not a pathetic fool who'll make up some bullshit just to try and impress someone that could not give less of a fuck about them. And third," Sasuke had drawn up to his full height by now, and the glare on his face was slowly melting the girls' skin off their faces. "If you ever so much as _think_ something bad about MY _boyfriend_, you will end up a bloody, shaking mess that will never be able to walk around a corner without checking it with a fifty foot mirror to make sure someone isn't waiting to end your pitiful existence."

Okay, time to stop before the girls urinate all over the floor.

I grabbed Sasuke's shoulder, pulling him back forcefully. "Okay, bastard, they get the picture. Sasuke be big bad wolf. No messy with Sasuke and his friends."

"Boyfriend." Sasuke corrected, wrapping an arm around my waist and further scaring the shivering females.

"Okay, no messy with Sasuke and his Master." I grinned while Sasuke scoffed lightly. "Anyway, now that you've one-upped Itachi and scared a group of little girls, can we go back to the others now? I want to see Kiba's head expand until it pops." I started pulling Sasuke away, and after sending one last glare at the girls, he nodded and allowed me to lead him away, my arm around his shoulders and his around my waist.

As we headed down the stairs, I hummed. "You know bastard, you kind of broke the rules back there."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow in question.

"Well, you scolded them about saying horrible stuff about others...and yet you didn't hesitate to call them a few choice things." I elaborated. Sasuke smirked, leaning down to place a kiss on my cheek right before we reached the doors.

"It's against school rules to hideously insult someone. There's nothing wrong with calling out someone's traits."

"You're an evil bastard."

"I try."

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

Groaning, I stretched out across my bed and sighed. The day had gone by fairly quickly, but even so I felt tired.

Naruto had been back at school for little under a week, and from what I could see, things were as bad as ever. The rest of the students were still bad mouthing him and giving him shit.

A growl worked out of my throat.

Honestly, people could be so useless sometimes.

However, I was glad to see that Naruto seemed a lot more confident now. He hadn't even seemed to notice the fact that he was so much stronger and more confident until both Kiba and Sakura commented on it today.

"Naruto...you seem to be doing extremely well. You're so confident and you're dealing with everyone's jabs so easily." Sakura had said, sounding awed and proud. I could relate.

"Yeah! I mean, I've seen how some of the kids have taunted you, but you don't even react like you used to. I know you used to ignore them before, but now it's different. You don't just try to ignore them, you really don't seem to listen to them!"

Naruto had scratched his cheek, seeming to think before she shrugged and smiled.

"I guess...spending time with people who actually care about me, and only those people has just helped me come to terms with things. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt sometimes, but I'm not nearly as upset over it as I used to be. I know that most of these kids don't even know why I'm so hated, and they're just doing it because everyone else is. As annoying as it is, I also know that it doesn't necessarily mean they have any personal grudge against me. Back when I didn't know the reason, I had thought that everyone hated me for a specific reason, and that I had somehow deserved it." He had shrugged after that. "But now I know it's misplaced, and they're simply naive. It doesn't faze me because I have no reason for it to."

"Dude...you get molested, go to the Uchihas, and you come out a full grown man with maturity!" Kiba said in disbelief.

Naruto had 'maturely' stuck his tongue out at the boy, and conversation had strayed from there into more idle and random topics.

I rolled over onto my stomach, looking off to the side of my room. Naruto had gone to his apartment today, and I had already finished my homework.

I was bored.

Sighing, I closed my eyes, letting my mind wander.

And of course the first thing to pop up was Naruto's face. I smiled a little, thinking back on the more amusing times of the day, which then led to thinking of the 'fun' times of the day. Namely when I managed to pull Naruto into one of the bathrooms in between periods and kiss him senseless-

"Boo."

I did not jump.

The strange, twitchy, jerky motion my entire body made was simply a rather unfortunate twitch attack at an inconvenient time.

Itachi smirked as he leant against my doorway, arms crossed. "My little brother, it's not often I see you looking so bored."

I sighed and flopped back down on the bed. "I don't know what to do," I admitted, my voice muffled by my pillow.

Itachi hummed. "Well, if this were a month ago, you'd have been on the computer playing that game of yours." He said.

My ears perked up before my head rose from the pillow. "You're right...for once." I added.

I rolled off the side of my bed, landing on my feet and making my way over to my desk and computer. Itachi was still standing there, watching me with a bored expression. Finally, I grew tired of having him stare at me.

"What?" I groaned, turning to look at him. Itachi's smirk made me see dark clouds looming, and I was starting to miss the silent staring.

"Oh nothing much...just thought I'd let you know something interesting..." he trailed off, an evil look on his face.

I found dread pooling in my stomach. "...What is it?"

Itachi grinned. "I've been offered a teaching position at your school."

"..."

"...And I accepted."

"..."

"Isn't it wonderful? I'll get to see you at your school and pass on my knowledge to my baby brother in a professional way."

"...Itachi please pass me my dustbin."

"Why?"

"I need to throw up."

Itachi's smirk would make our great uncle Madara proud in its level of evil. "Now now Sasuke...you hurt my feelings."

"You don't _have _any feelings!"

"This is true." Itachi said nonchalantly. "But either way, if you wish to deposit the contents of your stomach, please deposit them in the toilet." And with that he turned and left with an evil, psychopathic laugh.

I slumped against my chair, wide-eyed.

"...Itachi...at my school...as a teacher..." I said slowly before paling and moving to grab my phone.

It rang three times. "Hello?"

"Naruto...We are in serious trouble."

* * *

**Kao: *girly squeal* I WANT ITACHI AS MY TEACHER!**

**Kam: Are you nuts? He'd be terrifying!**

**Kao: EXACTLY! *starry eyed* IT would be such a thrill!**

**Juura: Whoa...Kao, I never knew you were an Itachi-Fanboy.**

**Kao: *huffs* Oh come on, you can't blame me can you?**

**Juura: This is true.**

**Kam: You guys are masochists, sadists and all around crazy people.**

**Kao: :D And we're your FAMILY!**

**Kam: *looks at readers* Anyone wanna Adopt an O.C?**

**LOL!**

**Anyway, there we go. Oooooh, Itachi as a teacher? XD I think school's going to become rather interesting for the gang, no? Hehehheehe...and the game is coming back into play! (Puns shall rule the world alongside ramen, bunny and Naruto himself) We are entering the final Arc of this story...the Games arc. ^-^ Uwaah...Online! has come such a long way! This is the longest story I've posted so far! WAAAAAIIII! ^(0o0)^**

**PREVIEW!**

_The gang is once more having fun in the game world, but the real world is proving to be rather entertaining too. Sasuke, Naruto and the rest of the student population have to deal with Itachi as their new teacher! Also, Naruto finds himself keeping a watchful eye on Hyuuga Hinata trying to discover what caused her to become a target for teasing._

**~This story is sponsored by your reviews!~**_  
_


	33. Chapter 33

**Kao: SWEET MERCIFUL LORD OF CHEESE! SHE DID IT!**

**Juura: I DID IT! I finally finished the chapter (after a few death threats)...gaaah it took too long! D: I'm so sorry, my precious readers. T^T Forgive meh! Oh, and Classified reviewer...please don't kill meh. Q_Q I updated Online!  
**

**Kam: Ah well, it's here now so that's a good thing.**

**Juura: Right! I don't wanna stall you too much but I just gotta make a few things known! First off, as a few people did refer to this in reviews... Everyone, this story is T-Rated...and it shall REMAIN T-rated. There be no citrus in this here story...there's hints...there's theatrical black-outs...there's 'Just about to do it-PAGEBREAK!'-s...but nothing graphic. For more on this matter, read my profile...**

**Second, If you guys like Twisted Fairy Tales and so forth (and you also like my O.C's) then please have a look at my DevientArt account at Juuria66. deviantart. com. ^_^ I've got something pretty cool planned.**

**OKAY! Just warnings and stuff left! Take it away boys!**

**Kao: Warnings are...uuuh... *looks at paper* Randomness, Itachi-Sensei *heart eyes*, some language and light yaoiness that might induce nosebleeds for some fangirls or annoyed groans for all you straight people. *weird look towards readers* **

**Kam: Disclaimer...Sensei does not own ANYTHING!...Because if she did, Sasuke wouldn't be such a friggen asshole and Naruto would've been named a hero loooooooooong ago already.**

**(Lol! This is the first chapter in a while which is purely Naruto POV! Hahah.)  
**

* * *

I blinked, looking down at the wooden table in front of me. A tall glass of what appeared to be water was sitting in front of me along with a knife and fork. I looked around and realized I was in what looked like a cottage kitchen. Everything was quaint and humble and...old.

I tilted my head in confusion. I definitely did not remember how I got here, nor did I know where I was.

"Hello?" I called out, scanning the room to see if there was a door or something. I saw what seemed to be a backdoor but other than that there was no entry or exit. There weren't even any windows to speak of.

Scratching my head, I leant back in the chair wondering how I'd gotten to wherever I was.

"Maybe I—"

The rest of my sentence was lost when the door slammed open. I whipped my heard around only to see Sasuke march in wearing what looked like blue armour and carrying...

"...Is that a pie?"

Sasuke nodded, dropping the pie in front of me. "I went and hunted the beast myself!" He declared in a very un-Sasuke-ish voice.

I stared at him for a moment before smiling and thanking him. "Sit down, dear, and we'll eat together."

Sasuke grinned and pulled a chair from...somewhere...and scooted closer to eat the pie-

'_Nice legs, daisy dukes, makes a man go—' _

Groaning, I rolled over and pressed down on the alarm, shutting it off. Rubbing my eyes, I stared up at the ceiling recalling the incredibly weird dream I'd been having. After thinking it over, I decided it was not a good idea to eat cold pizza, drink flat cola and then play online until about two in the morning.

I sat up slowly, scratching an itch on my head before stretching languidly. A thump on the wall made me turn to hear Kiba's voice.

"Wake up Naruto."

"Already up."

"Damn you!"

I snickered and climbed out of bed to get ready for the day. Glad it was nearing the weekend, I quickly showered and pulled on my uniform. Making sure I had all my things, I slung my bag over my shoulder and stepped outside. Kiba stumbled out of his apartment, eyes blinking sleepily.

"Okay...let's go—"

"You forgot your lunch again Kiba." Tsume said, scowling as she tossed the small bag to her sleepy son. I waved in greeting and she offered me a slightly-less-than-terrifying smile before retreating back into her home.

Kiba zombie-walked his way past me and towards the stares, and I watched him go with a raised eyebrow before following slowly.

"Why are you so tired?" I asked as we headed down the street. There was quite a large crowd walking and we had to constantly weave through people. I dodged a man talking on a cell phone and narrowly avoided getting my head taken off by a woman who spun around and let her hand bag swing dangerously.

Kiba was up ahead, also making his way through the dangerous streets and dodging various obstacles. He groaned slightly, rubbing his head.

"I was having a nightmare." He said, and yawned as he ducked under two women arguing.

"A nightmare about?" I pressed, side-stepping a large wad of gum and smirking when I heard someone behind me yell in disgust as they were not as fortunate.

"About Sasuke's older brother as our teacher." Kiba moaned. I snickered. I'd told Kiba and the others over Shaiya that Itachi was going to be a teacher at our school. Kiba had freaked out the most and it seems to still be having an effect on him.

"Make sure you don't let Itachi know you were having nightmares about him. I don't think he'd ever stop preening after that." I joked. Kiba sighed dramatically, slipping around a jogging guy.

"Yeah, you're right. But let's hurry," He said. We continued through the crowd, dodging a few more deadly things. We reached the street corner and stood with the rest of the crowd, waiting for the light to change. A young woman was standing next to Kiba, a pram in front of her. The small baby inside was gurgling happily, holding a rather over-sized rattle which swayed back and forth. The mother was talking on the phone. Kiba looked down at the little child and smiled. "Hello there." He cooed.

The baby turned huge auburn eyes to him and giggled sweetly. Kiba looked to the mother, who smiled, and he stepped a bit closer, bending slightly to see better.

"You're a cute little kid!" He said, waving his fingers to the baby and making it giggle again. I smiled watching him as he played.

"Kiba, the lights going to turn green soon." I reminded him. He nodded and turned back to the little kid.

"I've got to go now. Bye bye!" he cooed. The baby paused, it's eyes screwing up in displeasure.

"No!" it gurgled. Kiba chuckled lightly.

"Sorry little...whatever you are." He said slowly. "But I've got to get to school." He said, straightening up.

"NO!" the baby screeched and swung its rattle. Kiba's hands shot to his crotch after the rattle smacked it with a resounding crunch. His face screwed in pain and I had to reach out and grab him to stop him from collapsing to the floor. The baby was laughing loudly even while the mother scolded it and Kiba whined.

"Oh you little..." he gasped, eyes watering. The baby just giggled as it was pushed away across the street.

I struggled to hold in my laughter as I helped Kiba hobble along with the crowd, still clutching his crotch in pain. Kiba muttered dark curses about 'Satan Spawn' among with a few other such endearments for the child. By the time we arrived at school, he'd managed to walk reasonably normally, but a slight limp could still be seen if looked for.

"I can't believe that little shit..." Kiba grumbled as we walked towards our first class, English.

I snickered as Kiba grumbled and was about to comment when a pair of arms wrapped around my neck from behind. Jumping slightly, I tilted my head back to see Sasuke looking down at me.

"Hello, dobe."

"Hello teme."

Sasuke pulled me in for a kiss, and I heard Kiba groan and turn away. We were pretty lucky there weren't all that many students around, and the ones that were there were all preoccupied with something in the classroom to notice us outside.

I smiled into the kiss when Sasuke deepened it, and reached up to run my fingers through his hair. One finger caught on a knot and Sasuke winced as I yanked it out.

"Hn." He frowned down at me, but I only smiled innocently.

"Not my fault you don't comb your hair." I said in my defence. He shook his head, leaning heavily against me as the bell rang loudly. Students began to pour into the halls, and we received a fair amount of stares and gapes and a few glares. Most of the glares were directed at me, but I simply brushed them off. Really, there was no need for me to feel upset over them.

Sasuke huffed, pressing closer and hugging me tightly. I squirmed slightly in his hold.

"Sasuke, your water bottle is pressing against my back." I grumbled. Sasuke chuckled in my ear, the sound putting me on edge as he leant forwards, his lips pressing against my ear as he spoke.

"What makes you think it's my water bottle, dobe?"

I blinked before realization set in. It was a valiant struggle against the blush threatening to creep up, but sadly in the end I couldn't hold it back, especially when Sasuke had to roll his hips like the complete bastard he is.

"Teme!"

"Dobe."

"Get it away!"

"You love it and you know it."

Damn him.

While I continued to grumble about his bastardly ways, and he continued to hold me close and tease me, the students fell quiet as the teacher approached.

I was so busy focusing on kicking Sasuke's shin that I didn't realize who was standing in front of me until they cleared their throat. Looking up, I almost jumped into Sasuke's arms and cried.

"Good morning." Itachi greeted, sadistic grin promising torture and pain. "I'm your new English teacher."

* * *

The English classroom had never been quieter. No one was moving an inch and I wouldn't be surprised if half the students were holding their breath at the moment.

Up in front Itachi was slowly writing his name on the board, each stroke seeming to come out perfectly at the steady speed. Finally, with a last tick of chalk on the board, Itachi turned around to face the class, his face blank.

I stared at him, wondering what horrors he had planned for the unsuspecting student body. A quick glance to the right showed Sasuke trying his level best to be invisible.

And by that I mean he was holding his hands near his face and peeking out between his fingers like a small child watching a horror film.

I kind of wanted to join him but sadly my hands were refusing to co-operate and where instead clenched under my desk.

Itachi's eyes swept over the classroom before settling on Sasuke. A smirk curved his face slowly, and I heard Sasuke's gulp mirror my own.

Slowly, Itachi raised his hand, and motioned for Sasuke to come forward with one finger. The students let their eyes dart to Sasuke, who was taking his time getting out of his seat. I could fully understand Sasuke's fear. After all, Itachi was now at school, as a teacher and he could do a number of things to humiliate Sasuke but the worst was...

Mikoto was nowhere nearby for us to tattle on him and get revenge.

We were so screwed.

"Come now, Sasuke. Let's try to get this done before my arthritis kicks in." Itachi said after Sasuke had finally straightened up. Scowling, my poor boyfriend walked towards the front of the class until he was standing right in front of the Devil.

Itachi's smirk returned and then his eyes were moving again. I panicked when I saw they were looking for me, and began to silently pray to every heavenly being out there that I was wrong and he was looking for someone else.

"Ah, Naruto." Itachi said, and once more made the 'come hither' motion with his finger. "Please join us at the front."

I must have swallowed an entire lake of saliva by now with how nervous I was. Itachi was calling Sasuke and I to the front. Oh God what horrors had he planned?

Rising from my seat almost as slowly as Sasuke had, I inched towards the front. Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard a funeral march being played and held back a sob of desperation.

Hey, there was an open window! Maybe I could just slip to the side and...

"This way, Naruto. Towards the big green board."

Damn.

Finally, I reached the front and stood next to Sasuke. I could feel him radiating apprehension and knew I was fairing no better. The two of us stared at Itachi, who stared back with that infuriating and frightening smirk on his face. Finally, after a long moment of silent staring, waiting and, dear God, internal panicking...we snapped.

"WHAT?.!" Sasuke said loudly, looking up at his brother. I was twitching slightly with the effort to hold back my own shout.

Itachi's smirk grew even wider and I almost saw the Gates of Hell snap shut behind him.

"Turn to face the class, if you please." He said.

Sasuke and I shared a look that read the same. '_Our backs to Itachi...I'm about to shit bricks_.'

Nervously, we both turned to look at the class, who were watching us carefully. Judging by the looks on most of their faces, I could tell that the students instinctively knew Itachi was evil and was undoubtedly plotting something absolutely horrific and inhumane.

Sasuke and I shared another glance when we felt a shadow loom. Then, the next thing we knew our heads were colliding against each other and I had a hand pressed against my other ear. Hissing in pain, I struggled lightly against Itachi's hold as he forced mine and Sasuke's heads together. He dropped his chin atop both of our heads and gave the class a cheeky smirk.

"Everyone listen carefully. These two boys are my puppets, and therefore I will assign them to do most of the handing out, errands for me as well as give one or both of them control of the class when I am not present. You shall listen to them when they are left in charge and if I find anyone decides to misbehave just because they're the ones watching over you, believe you me..." Itachi's face took on a dark tone and I saw a ripple move through the class as the students shivered, "There will be a punishment and it will be severe. Now then," he straightened up, patting us on our heads before 'gently' shoving us towards our seats, "Let us begin now that that is taken care of."

Sasuke stumbled to his seat, rubbing his head. I did much the same, wincing when I felt the tender area where my skull had met Sasuke's. We shared another look, this one filled with resignation and despair before dropping into our seats and letting our identical groans of frustration.

"I knew it. He's going to kill me slowly." I heard Sasuke mumble and had to nod my agreement.

Itachi just smiled happily.

"Everyone, take out your textbooks and turn to page thirty-four." He instructed, and there was a flurry of movement as everyone moved to gather their books. However one hand was thrust into the air. I stared at it before following the arm down to its owner. It was Karin.

Itachi noticed her and tilted his head. "The red-head with magnifying glasses on her face; what is it?" he called.

I heard Kiba's head thump against his desk as he held back his laughter and I had to press my hand to my mouth to hold in my own snickers. Sasuke's lips were twitching slightly.

Karin's face had turned several shades of red before settling on a simple blush as she fiddled with her glasses.

"Sir, usually when a new teacher comes, they give a short introduction of themselves to the students..." she said.

Itachi sighed, moving to sit down. He placed his legs up onto the desk, crossed at the ankles, and folded his arms. Looking out over the class he gave a short nod.

"Fine. My name is Uchiha Itachi, and I am twenty-three years old. I graduated early, got into university early and basically did a whole lot of things earlier than most. I like and dislike things like any normal human," Sasuke's snort was barely stifled, "...and I will not stand for any bullshit from you runts. In this class, I am the law and you will obey. End of story," he clapped his hands together before slowly bringing them apart as if he was parting a red sea.

Another hand shot into the air. "Sir, you said Uchiha? So are you related to Sasuke-kun?" the girl asked, nodding towards Sasuke.

Itachi's smirk killed an innocent puppy somewhere.

"Why as a matter of fact yes. He's my adorable baby brother."

Sasuke hissed. "And you're evil incarnate." He retorted darkly. Itachi chuckled, the sound sending shivers up my spine.

"Little brother, you flatter me so."

"Burn in hell, _sir_."

The class was watching the two Uchiha brothers with rapt interest. Itachi's smirk was reaching apocalyptic proportions while Sasuke's glare was slowly destroying the ozone layer with its intensity. I was watching them eagerly when something caught my eye. Turning my head back ever so slightly I saw one of the students sitting in the corner, her face partly shielded by long black hair.

Hyuuga Hinata.

I tipped my head slightly to see her better, and noted the way she looked a bit pale.

My inner self slapped me across the mental face. Hinata was _always_ pale. But today she seemed just a little bit paler than normal and her eyes seemed to be tired. I pondered this for a moment before an answer came to me.

Was it because of the teasing? Had it really troubled her enough to make her lose sleep over it? I frowned sadly, still watching her. She was keeping quiet, her eyes barely glancing at Itachi before returning to her desk. She was definitely a shy little thing.

I had the strangest urge to stroke her head like a puppy.

"Sir, are you and Sasuke-kun very close brothers?"

The question made me look away from Hinata to see that most of the class was now asking questions about Itachi.

Sasuke looked at his brother, raising an eyebrow. Itachi seemed to think before he sighed.

"Sasuke and I are brothers...we're close whether we like it or not." He answered and smirked at Sasuke. I chuckled lightly, leaning my elbow on my desk. As much as the brothers fought and pulled pranks on each other I knew that in the end they were close brothers. It was so obvious to me.

"Sir, what's your family like?" another student asked eagerly.

"How is that any of your business?" Sasuke snapped, glaring at the person. Itachi chuckled.

"Now now Sasuke...That's not nice. And as for your question, if you so wish to have an opinion on my family, then you can ask Naruto-kun," he said, waving to me. I shrunk in my seat slightly.

"Don't drag me into your schemes Itachi!" I whined, and Itachi's smirk was definitely on this side of the evil spectrum.

"Naruto-kun, you hurt my feelings. And here I thought we were finally getting along..." he trailed off, eyes flashing in amusement.

The class had fallen quiet, most of the eyes staring at me. I shifted slightly, turning to face the rest of the class.

"...What?" I asked innocently.

"How come you're so close to the Uchiha's?" Kin snapped, glaring at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?" I asked slowly.

Kin huffed. "I just don't understand how a stupid monster like you could know such a cool family!" she spat.

I swear I saw icicles forming on the ceiling and the edges of the desks. Before I could even roll my eyes at her comment, Itachi was out of his seat. For a moment I remembered the day I'd been attacked in the alley on my way to the Uchiha house. The memory of Itachi's cold threat and easy handling of the punks came back, and for a brief second I was worried about the health of my fellow classmate.

Itachi strode up to Kin's desk and loomed over her. She leant back in her seat, eyes growing wide in fear.

"What is your full name?"

"O-Otono K-kin, sir!" she stammered.

Itachi narrowed his eyes for a moment before leaning back. "Otono, you say?"

Kin nodded, looking slightly relieved.

"Otono...Otono...that name rings a bell..." Itachi murmured, seeming to himself. Everyone was watching him with rapt attention and when he snapped his fingers half the class jumped while the other half flinched. "Oh yes! Now I remember..," Itachi looked down at Kin with a cool gaze. "Your father, Otono Kabi was responsible for a huge screw-up in the filing system at my father's offices. He was fired in front of the entire company by my father himself after that little spout of pure idiocy."

Kin's face had paled until she was left looking rather grey. The class was hushed, but there was a soundless buzz in the air at this news. I didn't know whether to smirk at Itachi's total 'pwnage' so to speak, or feel incredibly bad that Kin was just humiliated in front of the entire classroom.

Itachi stepped back, a cold glare on his face. "You'd do well to remember, Otono-san, to think very carefully before calling other people such nasty things. I have a few choice descriptions of you myself, but seeing as I am a teacher, it would be unwise of me to utter them. However," he turned to address the entire classroom, "Do not doubt that the next time someone utters such words about Uzumaki Naruto in my classroom, that student will _not_ be returning to this classroom ever again."

"S-Sir?" a timid voice asked, and everyone turned to see Hinata holding her hand in the air. I blinked in surprise. Of all the people to speak to Itachi when he's angry, I had not pictured Hinata to be the one.

"Yes, Hyuuga-san?" Itachi asked calmly.

Hinata slowly lowered her hand and for a brief moment, she glanced at me before returning her gaze to her desk. "Y-You think of N-Naruto-kun as a b-brother don't you?" she asked quietly.

Itachi's face turned a shade softer. "As a matter of fact, yes I do. Very much so." He said.

I shifted in my seat when most of the classes eyes turned to me in shock. Hinata also looked over before she smiled slightly and looked back at her desk.

"T-that's good." She murmured.

Itachi gave a nod before walking back to the front of the class. "If all the melodramatics are finally over with, can we continue with the lesson?"

* * *

I groaned slightly, tilting my head back. Sasuke's mouth was attached to my neck and he was sucking like a leech.

"Sasuke..." I said slowly. "We...really shouldn't...be doing this here..." I continued, finding it hard to concentrate when my pulse was being attacked by his over-eager tongue. I felt Sasuke shake his head slightly before he pulled away slightly to look down at me.

"And why not?" he asked before reattaching himself, the bastard.

"Because you fool...someone could come at," I groaned when his leg decided to join the game, "any moment." I finished in a growl.

Sasuke just scoffed against my neck and moved up to pull me into a kiss. He pressed me further against the wall of the small closet, his hands gripping my arms tightly. Good thing to else I probably would've hit him upside the head for molesting me in a closet...again.

I bit my lip when his leg began moving again and his kisses became deeper. For a moment I considered fighting back since this was inappropriate-school closest for crying out loud!- but when his hands decided to caress my sides slightly I just closed my eyes and thought 'screw it'. Wrapping my arms around his neck only encouraged him further and those damn hands got bolder.

Soon enough I was panting while Sasuke 'marked his territory' as he so fondly expressed. My brain was very quickly turning to mush under his ministrations.

Soon he was heading lower and lower, his mouth leaving marks everywhere. When he was on his knees I groaned and let my head thump back against the shelves.

The last clear thought before my brain melted under the sensations was...

'_Kiba's _so_ going to murder him_.'

* * *

"I AM _SO_ GOING TO MURDER YOU!"

I knew it.

Sasuke was already climbing up the nearest tree to escape Kiba's claws. I wondered if he realized that it just made it easier for Kiba to catch him since he had no exits once he was up there, but I decided to keep my mouth closed and enjoy the show.

Was I a bastard?

Why yes...yes I was. If Sasuke was allowed to be a bastard then so was I.

"I thought you said you weren't going to interrupt again!" Sasuke yelled angrily, clinging to a branch.

"I didn't interrupt did I? But I never said I wasn't going to kick your ass _afterwards_!" Kiba yelled back, already jumping for the lowest branch. Sasuke cursed and scrambled to a different branch.

Sakura and I exchanged a look while Shikamaru sighed and covered his eyes with his arm. He was strewn across the ground, supposedly resting.

"Hey did you guys hear anything about why Hinata was getting teased yesterday?" I asked. Ever since I'd found out she was getting teased I was curious to know why.

Shikamaru lifted his arm, looking thoughtful.

"I think it had something to do with her hobby. I'm not too sure what it was but I heard it was something about a game." He said slowly before shrugging lightly and returning his arm over his eyes.

I frowned in thought, glancing around the courtyard until I spotted Hinata. She was sitting on a low bench, her lunch resting on her lap while she chewed timidly. Beside her was an older boy who greatly resembled her but for his hair being a chocolate brown. I nudged Sakura in the side and nodded towards them.

"Who's that guy?"

Sakura looked over, humming as she thought before blinking. "Oh right. He's Hyuuga Neji, Hinata's older cousin. He's a year older than us."

I tilted my head and studied Neji further. He reminded me of Sasuke in the sense that he had a rather cold looking face and seemed to be rather...bastard-like. He was currently talking to a girl with her hair tied into two buns. I guessed she was also a year older. Standing beside her was a boy with a bowl-cut style and...

"Holy shit!" I gasped, leaning back in horror before leaning forward and squinting. "...Does that dude have huge fat caterpillars on his face or are those really his eyebrows?" I asked in shock.

Sakura slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. "That's Rock Lee, also a year older. And yes...those are his eyebrows." She giggled again, her shoulders shaking slightly.

I let out a low whistle.

"Poor guy."

Shikamaru snorted slightly. "Not really...the guy's even more energetic and optimistic than you."

I raised a brow. "I'm optimistic?"

"Mostly."

"Come here you little shit!" I turned and saw Kiba clinging onto a branch with one arm while trying to snatch Sasuke with the other. Sasuke was dodging out of reach by swinging back slightly.

"Oi, just be careful! That branch looks like it might break soon," I warned, eyeing the branch Sasuke was holding. It looked brittle and I thought I could see a few tiny cracks forming. Sasuke sent Kiba a glare before turning to smirk in my direction.

"That's so cute...you're worried about me, dobe?"

"I worry about the poor tree, teme."

Sasuke scowled but before he could retort Kiba managed to snatch his ankle.

"Gotcha!"

"Help me Naru!"

I turned away from the two fighting in the tree to once more look at the older group. My brows shot up when I saw Neji was talking to Hinata. Judging by the way she flinched and bowed her head, and the way his face twisted in anger I guessed he was scolding her for something.

Biting my lip, I came to a decision. I shoved my lunch off my lap and stood. "I'll be right back."

"Huh? Where're you going?" Sakura asked as I walked away but I just waved her question off as I approached Hinata and the rest.

When I was finally within earshot, I caught a few snippets of conversation.

"...disgraceful! You're the Hyuuga heiress!" Neji sneered.

"I-I'm s-sorry." Hinata mumbled, looking ready to break down.

I did not like the sound of this. Stepping up I cleared my throat loudly. Everyone's heads snapped to me. Hinata's eyes grew wide before she ducked her head back down, staring at her lap. Neji's eyes narrowed in cool regard while the other two simply looked curious and a little surprised.

"Can we help you?" Neji asked coolly.

I offered a smile. "Well I was just wondering if Hinata would like to come sit with me and my friends?" I asked, nodding back towards the others. Hinata looked up, her eyes wide. Her lips moved, maybe to say yes, but before she could utter a word Neji stepped forward.

"No. She will not be associating with someone like you."

My smile dropped and I stared directly into his eyes. "And just what do you mean by someone like me?" I asked coldly. Figures the guy would be a prick.

Neji straightened up to his full height which, as much as I loathed to admit, was about a head taller than me and stared down at me.

"You're a bad influence. Hinata is part of a prestigious family and she cannot be seen hanging around a delinquent—"

"I suggest you watch your words very carefully, Hyuuga."

I looked over my shoulder to see Sasuke standing behind me, his glare intense and set on Neji. The older Hyuuga didn't seem too fazed as he only sniffed and tilted his head up further.

"Uchiha. I'd heard you were with this...person...but I hadn't thought you'd stoop so low."

Sasuke hissed, stepping forward. "Watch your mouth." He snapped. Neji's face twisted into a cruel smirk as he observed us.

"Hang on a second." I interrupted, gaining his attention. "Exactly what have I done to you that would make you think I'm a 'delinquent' and a bad influence?" I asked slowly, glaring up at him.

Neji paused, his features tightening before that smug look returned. "I know all about what happened in your past. You're a mur—"

"If you finish that sentence I swear to God your intestines will be decorating the floor in a second." Sasuke snarled, the sound so vicious I almost flinched _for_ Neji. Behind him, Hinata was looking at me in shock. I offered her a soft smile, hoping she understood that I wasn't the bad guy at all. After a brief moment she sent a small smile in return.

"Uchiha, you must know of the story yourself. You can't deny what did." Neji snapped.

"What he did? He was a fucking baby you ass! What could he possibly have done?" Sasuke growled, stepping forward again. Neji was starting to look a bit strained, undoubtedly running out of argument material.

"The papers said—" he began.

"The '_papers'_ say ghosts are real and Elvis Presley was sighted in Wal-Mart. You're really going to believe them?" Sasuke countered quickly.

Neji kept quiet.

Smirking slightly at Sasuke's victory, I once more turned to Hinata. "Now I'll ask again. Hinata, would you like to come and sit with my friends and I?"

Hinata bit her lip, glancing at Neji and the other two before she gave a short nod. "Y-Yes, I would l-love to," she stammered, grabbing her lunch tightly and standing up. Throwing a smile at the others, I waved the way and let Hinata walk ahead. Wrapped my fingers around Sasuke's arm, I urged him to move and soon the two of us were turning to go back to the others.

"Hn. I'm not surprised. Hinata has always been a disgrace to the family."

I froze, Sasuke jerking slightly beside me. He turned to look at me but my eyes were trained on the ground as the words rang in my head. Turning around slowly, I glared straight at Neji.

"What did you just say?"

Neji's sneer was more condescending than anything I'd ever seen. The other two behind him looked uncomfortable and a bit annoyed with him.

"I said she's always been a disgrace. She hardly acts proper, she's a weak little whelp and has absolutely no backbone. She's worthless."

My fingers moved from Sasuke's arm slowly. "Sasuke..."

"Hn?"

"Write me a detention slip, please."

"What? Why—"

My fist was already pressing against Neji's cheek, and I found great satisfaction in the resounding cracking sound that followed. Neji stumbled to the side, eyes widening impossibly while his bushy-browed friend moved to stop him from toppling over completely.

I straightened, shaking my fist out and blowing on my knuckles.

"That's why." I finished, turning away and heading towards the others who were watching with gaping mouths.

Behind me I heard Sasuke snort softly before he followed along.

"Dobe...now we're both going to have to stay after school since I'll have to watch you."

I just grinned.

* * *

**O_o Can anybody say 'random'?**

**XD**

**Hope you enjoyed it! ...¬_¬ Don't gotta lot to say now...**

**...**

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**_PREVIEW!_**

_Naruto and the group do their best to make Hinata fit in and soon discover a very surprising fact about the shy girl. Meanwhile, Naruto finds himself in a deadlock with Neji as the older boy continues to belittle Hinata. Naruto's dead set on teaching the stuck up jerk a lesson, but it seems he's not the only one..._

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	34. Chapter 34

**HI EVERYONE!**

**Sorry for the delay, but as many of you have probably noticed, Fanfiction is going through some epic PMSing, so yeah...We can't seem to upload new stories under the Naruto category, and we have to use tricks to upload new chapters even. I really hope they sort this stupid issue out soon. I miss going on to FF and seeing a bunch of fresh meat-er-I mean new stories to enjoy! Eheheh. ¬_¬**

**Anyhoo, there was begging, and bribing, and flattery, and insults...so I finally relented, finished the chapter, and am posting it here! Yay!**

**Oooh, btw, I got me an account in Fiction Press . net, so yea...if you'd like to see original stories from me that are more than likely going to star my O.C's (who am I kidding, they'll totally run the show!) then just look me up there. Juura99, as always! ^_^ So far I haven't posted anything (I only made the account tonight) but yeah, when I do finish something original, I'll post it up thar.**

**ALSO! Fanfiction was pmsing, as mentioned before, and it turned off all my email alerts! So I was getting reviews without even knowing it! D: I'm so sorry that I didn't reply, but just know that I did see your reviews eventually and I love them very much! Thank you all! And to the new reviewers...WELCOME TO THE FLOCK!**

**Kao: So what, they're a bunch of sheep now?**

**Me: Gah no! Uh...welcome to the herd!**

**Kam: So they're cows?**

**Me: No...um...Congregation?**

**Kao: Religion is not to be trifled with...**

**Me: Group?**

**Kam: How boring.**

**Me: Grr... Gathering?**

**Kao: Hardly...**

**Me: Coven?**

**Kam: I don't see any cauldrons and spellbooks here...**

**Me: CLUB?**

**Kao: Absence of flashy lights, loud music, and hotties.**

**Me: NEST?**

**Kam: Caw caw? Not likely.**

**Me: WELCOME TO THE POSSE?.!**

**Kao: Insane clowns?**

**Me: GAAH! I GIVE UP! *stomps away***

**Kao/Kam: *victory signs* Hehehe.  
**

**OKAY!**

**Enough delays!**

**On with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Ect.**

**Warnings: Language, Asshole!Neji, SasuNaru fluff-ish moments...yeah the usual. :)**

**Online!  
**

* * *

I cursed as my character was swarmed by a group of monsters, attacking from all sides. I tried to fight them off but it was too much and soon my character collapsed, dead as a doornail. A sigh echoed out my mouth as I leant back and glanced at the time.

It was nearing midnight. I'd been playing online for almost four hours now and wondered if I should shut off and go to bed. Looking down at the screen, I smiled.

Just one more try wouldn't hurt.

...

Okay, I have to admit that I have some issues with giving up. After all, when my 'one more try' turned into 'twenty-seven more tries' I was struck with an epiphany that, sometimes...it was okay to give up and try again at a later and more convenient time.

I yawned widely, the corners of my mouth stretching to breaking point before I slumped down onto my bed and relaxed. Glancing at the clock I groaned at seeing it was two in the morning. I was going to be so tired tomorrow.

Shifting around, I curled up under the covers and prepared to sleep.

...

Don't you hate it when you close your eyes to sleep, and then you open them what feels like a second later and it is morning? I felt so tired but my alarm going off was the sure sign that I had slept some.

Groaning and yawning, I rolled out of bed, catching myself and trudged to the bathroom, banging on the wall to wake Kiba up.

Judging by the loud curse I guessed he fell out of bed again.

"Dammit Naruto!"

I just smirked happily.

It felt good to mess with him.

* * *

I grunted as I collapsed against the wall of the school, breathing heavily. Beside me, Kiba slid down the wall a bit, his mouth wide open as he pulled air into his lungs.

"That's...the last time...I walk with you to school!" I wheezed, sending an angry glare to my so called friend. Kiba sent me an annoyed look.

"How was I supposed to know they'd react that way?" he defended, trying to straighten up. I scoffed loudly, leaning against the wall as I slowly caught my breath.

"Oh sure...you openly call a group of beefy bikers 'Beer-guzzling, brain-dead, closet homos' and you _really_ don't think they're going to be pissed off?" I snapped.

Yes.

Kiba's stupidity had reached that far. We'd been walking past some of the shops, and a group of bikers were hanging outside the drug store. I'm not sure what happened, since I was busy looking in my bag to make sure I had everything, but one of them said something to which Kiba replied with that brilliantly thought out insult.

I'd never run so fast in my life!

Kiba scratched his head, grinning sheepishly as he straightened up a bit. "Okay so maybe I could have thought it out a bit more...but still!"

"Hn. What's going on?"

I turned, smiling as Sasuke walked up to the two of us, placing a chaste kiss on my cheek as greeting before wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Oh nothing much. Kiba almost got the both of us killed via angry bikers but other than that life is peachy," I stated flippantly, smirking when Kiba growled.

"Once again, not entirely my fault! Those douches didn't know how to take a joke!"

I let my eyes travel over Kiba's shoulder. "Oh shit, he didn't mean it mister biker!" I yelled frantically.

Kiba paled and spun around, his body twisting into some odd karate stance. "I know karate! I swear I'll—!"

Hinata blinked, clutching her books to her chest as she stared wide-eyed at Kiba, who was still in his odd pose.

I managed to hold in my laughter long enough to say "Oh, oops. I was just seeing things," before I lost control and leant heavily against Sasuke, laughing for all I was worth.

Even Sasuke was snickering, his arm tightening to keep me upright while I howled with mirth. Kiba's ears burned red, indicating the rest of his face was following as he straightened up.

"Uh...Hi Hinata," he greeted waving. "Sorry about that...Naruto was just being a retard," he sent an angry glare to me, but all I could do was grin and laugh some more at his embarrassed hue.

"Aw, but Kiba! You looked so badass in that pose!" We all turned to see Sakura walking up, smirking at the blushing brunet. "Isn't that right, Hinata?" she added, nudging the shy girl in the side. Hinata blinked, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"Uhm...y-yes I suppose s-so," she stammered, giving a hesitant smile towards Kiba. I could tell he was smiling now, judging by the way he straightened and exuded this pleased air.

"Be careful Kiba, you're ego is showing." Sasuke hissed teasingly, smirking when Kiba cringed and glared at him.

"Minions! The bell is about to ring. I suggest you get to my class before I do." Mizuki said as he strolled past, looking at papers and holding his briefcase.

I shared a look with the others before we all headed after the teacher.

"Sensei, can we have a free period?" Sakura asked, smiling.

"What? And miss all the lovely torture I've planned for the class today? Pfft, hell no." Mizuki smirked at our groans as we reached the classroom as the bell rang.

Class began like usual, with Mizuki handing out a few worksheets and chalking down some sums on the board. He called random students up to come and do the calculations and I found it strange how when he called me up, I didn't at all feel upset.

Maybe it was because I knew he wasn't calling on me to try and humiliate me.

Walking up to the board, I quickly studied the problem and saw it was a pretty easy one. As long as I kept concentration I wouldn't mess up.

I had already worked the first bit out when there came a sharp rap on the door, I paused while Mizuki called for them to come in. When the door opened, my jaw dropped before I narrowed my eyes and clenched my teeth.

Hyuuga Neji, his friend in green and another boy I'd never seen before walked in.

"Forgive the intrusion. Our homeroom teacher is absent and we were sent to substitute classes since there was no free teacher." The Hyuuga jerk said, inclining his head slightly at Mizuki.

"Okay then. There are a few free seats around the class. Sit down, and keep yourselves occupied," Mizuki's face was as innocent as Satan spawn, "_quietly_."

The three intruders, as I considered them, nodded and found some seats. I sneaked a glance back and was highly tempted to swallow the chalk in my hand as an excuse to leave.

Hyuuga Noob Neji had taken an empty seat next to mine.

Life was so cruel sometimes.

"Okay then, you can continue." Mizuki said, motioning for me. I blinked, turning back to the board. I looked at the numbers and sighed in aggravation. I'd totally lost count.

"Sir, can I start over? I lost my count..." I mumbled, sending my teacher an unhappy gaze. Mizuki blinked before nodding.

"Yeah sure. Just don't take too long."

I nodded, quickly erasing what I'd written and starting again. Luckily I got the sum finished in time, and I was relieved when Mizuki announced it was correct. It would have been so embarrassing if I'd screwed up.

"Alright everyone, we're going to be moving onto the next section in the textbooks, so please turn to page—"

The overhead speakers screeched, cutting off Mizuki's instructions.

"Mizuki-sense, please report to the parking lot. It seems there has been an incident involving your car..." the receptionist's voice sounded a bit nervous.

Mizuki stilled for a moment while the class turned wary eyes to him. Finally, he let out a loud groan, rubbing his face with his hands.

"I swear to all celestial beings...if I have to use public transport for more than a week, I'll indulge in the ways of seppukku," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "Alright I'll be back, keep quiet and just read over what we've been doing to make sure you understand the concepts." And with that he strode out of the room, grumbling under his breath.

Most of the class mixed into soft whispers between each other while a few students actually started to read.

Sakura and I were doing both.

"Sakura-chan, I don't get this one entirely..." I said, pointing to one of the longer sums. Sakura leant over her desk slightly, looking at the problem before she explained it to me.

The only problem was, like most girls, she liked being complicated.

"And then you divide...Naruto are you listening?"

"Not at all. You lost me at _x_ equals _y_ as long as there's a twenty or something." I said, grinning slightly. Sakura sighed, a smile on her face in the classic 'You're a moron but I like you anyway' expression.

"Hn. Not only loud and foul mouthed, but an idiot too."

For one split second, I had thought Sasuke had reverted back to his asshole ways-not that he ever really progressed but he is better now- before the voice caught up to me.

Narrowing my eyes, I turned my head to glare at the smug looking brunet.

"You got something to say to me, asshole?"

Neji scowled, crossing his arms. "Only that I'm surprised you're in this grade since you obviously don't have much of a brain," he said, his voice as condescending as ever. I bristled, fully intending to remind him how my fist felt against his face, but then I remembered I was in a full classroom during the middle of school...

Damn.

"You know, I don't know what the hell your issue is, but you'd better lay off!" Sakura snapped, glaring at him. Neji just raised an eyebrow at her.

"You think I could be intimidated by a mere _girl_?" He asked snidely.

"You sexist bastard!" Sakura growled, looking like she'd love nothing more than to shove a large object up Neji's backside to join the pole he obviously already had up there. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean you're any better than me!"

"Yeah," I joined, glaring at him, "Besides, I know for a fact that Sakura-chan, a _girl_ as you so politely pointed out, already has bigger _balls_ than you, so you can hardly talk."

Neji's face looked interesting in that shade of red. It's obvious he didn't colour very often.

"What did you say to me?"

"Oh crap, he's deaf. Now I feel bad." I said to Sakura, smirking when Neji's colour increased in its intensity. But before he could do more than growl, Sasuke stood from his seat.

"That's enough. Everyone shut up and do what you were told to do."

Ah, he was finally playing the role of class representative. Took him long enough.

Most of the class silenced themselves- as in every girl shut up to watch their idol walk to the front- with only a few students being bold enough to hiss out the odd whisper.

I turned away from Neji, considering myself done with him, and Sakura did the same.

Sasuke was leaning against the teacher's desk, his arms crossed while he occasionally scanned the room. When he wasn't scanning, he was watching me.

I looked up, catching his eye and mouthed 'stalker'. He only gave me that sexy smirk he saves for special occasions.

Of course, at that smirk half the girls swooned, thinking it was directed at them, even though he was looking to the side since I was right by the window. But when did a fan girl's logic ever really make sense?

"Sasuke-kun!"

A hand shot up into the air, and most of the class turned to see who it belonged to. Karin was blushing slightly, holding her hand high in the air.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, his way of saying 'talk or shut the hell up and don't bother me'.

Karin slowly stood up, sending a glance to me before returning her attention to the front.

I was not sure I liked this...

"Sasuke-kun...I know this isn't the best place or time but I have to ask..." she took a deep breath, "...I love you! Will you be my boyfriend?"

The silence was heavy.

I stared at her, along with most other people in the class. Of course, most of their thoughts were probably along the line of '_wow she's brave_' or '_aw how cute_' or maybe even '_dammit, another one sells her soul to Uchiha, I'm never getting laid at this rate!_'

My thoughts, however, were along the lines of '_What is she thinking, didn't she hear Sasuke call me his boyfriend before? Can you not take a hint that's been thrown in your face_?'

Sasuke let out a sigh, drawing most of the attention towards him as he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. When he looked up, his gaze fell on Sakura.

"Sakura...do all women have selective hearing?" he asked seriously.

Sakura shook her head. "No, they don't. At least not to my knowledge."

Sasuke turned his attention back to Karin, glare set in place. "It seems that saying it once was not clear enough for you, so I'll have to say it again. _No_, I will _not_ be your boyfriend. I do _not_ _want_ to be your boyfriend. I will _never_ _want_ to be your boyfriend. I don't want to be _any_ girl's boyfriend! I never _will be_ any girl's boyfriend. And if you haven't already figured it out, even though I said it _so_ clearly very recently, I will never be any girl's boyfriend because I, myself, _already have a boyfriend_!"

The silence that followed that was near suffocating.

A quick glance around showed that, aside from Kiba who was playing tic tac toe with himself, and Shikamaru who was asleep, the entire class was focused on Sasuke. Most of the guys had their jaws planted on the table, while most of the girls looked ready to jump out the closest window. Karin was shaking from where she stood, her eyes shining with angry tears.

"So...so you weren't just saying it...you meant it," she bit out, grasping her hands together. Sasuke gave a curt nod.

"Yes I did. Now I'd appreciate if firstly you stopped asking me out all the time, and secondly if you stopped tormenting my boyfriend out of your own jealousy."

Not that she'd done that yet. He was obviously just planning for the future.

Karin bit her lip harshly and sat down with a soft thud.

And it was like the damn broke. All the girls were jabbering at once, demanding to know who his boyfriend was, how he could be gay, as well as making plans to 'help him see the light' or whatever the hell they were saying. Some of the guys were talking amongst themselves, throwing glances to Sasuke and I noticed one or two exchanging money.

Heh, seems Sasuke's sexuality had been betted on quite a bit.

I may have made a few comments about how amusing it was that some guys were making profits from the class president's sexuality choice had the situation not involved my boyfriend.

Just when it looked like Sasuke was ready to lose his cool and throw something, the door slid open and Mizuki returned, grumbling under his breath. He looked up, noticing the chaos in the class and frowned, waving his hands.

"Oi, oi! What's this now? I never said you could start a tea party! What's going on here?" he demanded, heading to the front.

"Karin asked Sasuke-kun to be her boyfriend!"

"But Uchiha said he was gay!"

"He can't be gay! He just can't be!"

"He has a boyfriend! And he is a boy. Therefore, he is gay."

"I got ten bucks!"

"I will never stop loving Sasuke-kun!"

"Shut up! I will never stop loving him!"

Mizuki let out an incredulous noise while Sasuke shook his head, moving back to his seat.

"Honestly, what the hell?" Mizuki said loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "I leave the class for a few minutes, and when I come back it's like I've stepped into some badly written teenage drama story! Next thing you're going to be telling me Uchiha sparkles in the sunlight and that another student can transform into a poodle when he's constipated!"

Mizuki's class was certainly interesting that day.

* * *

By the time lunch had rolled around, the news of Sasuke's official 'coming out' announcement had spread through the entire school. Our little group of friends had had to find a different, secret place to sit since crowds had gathered around our usual spot and started firing off questions, complaints, insults, and on a few occasions well wishes, date offers and a few disturbing suggestions on positions to try.

We'd never be able to look at Kakashi-sensei the same again.

After some searching which had doubled as a twisted game of hide-and-hope-to-God-you-aren't-found-by-rabid-school-kids, Asuma-sensei found us and took pity on our group and gave us the key to the school roof, saying we had his special permission to use it during break.

And so we were situated on the roof, out of sight from the students below and we could all breathe a sigh of relief.

Sasuke looked particularly annoyed with himself. I guessed he was regretting confessing to being gay at such an inopportune time. Now almost everyone in the school had something to say to him, be it negative, positive or disturbing.

"Don't worry teme, it won't last too long," I tried to reassure. Sasuke huffed, leaning his shoulder against mine while he chewed on his sandwich grumpily. I almost laughed at the way his cheeks were puffed up with food while his eyes were narrowed in a glare at nothing.

It was almost like he was pouting.

"So cute..."

Oh shit, I said that out loud? Oops...

Sasuke's glare was only half terrifying, I swear.

"So anyway," Kiba drawled, cutting off the potential spat between me and the teme, "Now that Hinata has joined our group of friends, I say we get to know her better," he grinned, turning to look at Hinata, who blushed under his gaze.

Beside me Sasuke snorted softly. "Oh, I'm sure you'd love to get to know her _much_ better, eh Kiba?" He questioned slyly, waggling his eyebrows and smirking. Sakura choked on her drink as she laughed while Shikamaru smirked behind his juice. I suppressed my own laughter since Hinata was blushing so furiously, I wondered if she was going to pass out.

Kiba sputtered indignantly, his face going red before he crossed his arms, huffed and said a short and simple "Fuck you, Uchiha."

"Anyway, suggestive and bastardly comments aside, I am curious to know more about you Hinata-chan." I smiled at the girl while she seemed to mentally will away the redness in her face, replacing it with a shy smile.

"W-well...what w-would you like t-to know?"

"Anything, really. What's your favourite colour, or animal? Or what kind of music you prefer? Things like what you want to be when you're older and what you like to do in your spare time...just stuff like that!"

"Yeah. Tell us everything!" Kiba encouraged, smiling. Sakura coughed into her hand, the sound resembling the word 'eager' a bit too much for Kiba's liking, as he glowered at her.

Hinata thought for a moment before she began tapping her fingers together, eyes focused on her hands.

"W-well I really l-like purple and I've a-always been f-fond of d-dogs—"

"You like dogs? I have loads of dogs!" Kiba said excitedly. Shikamaru sighed in annoyance, picking up one of his empty juice boxes and throwing it with surprising force at Kiba's head.

"Shut up and let the girl finish would you?" he drawled at the glaring brunet.

Hinata giggled softly before continuing. "Y-yes, I like dogs. Um...I enjoy a lot o-of music types, but m-my favourite is p-probably alternative r-rock."

That was a bit surprising. I had expected classical, maybe even pop, but once more I was reminded that people were hardly ever as they seemed.

"A-as for when I'm o-older...I'm s-supposed to take over the f-family business...b-but I'm n-not really u-up to standard for the job." Hinata's face took on a sad expression, and her tone showed her hesitance and remorse.

I frowned. "But...Is that what you want to do?" I asked slowly.

Hinata looked up, catching my eye before she blushed and looked away, her fingers tapping together a bit faster. "H-honestly no," she said softly, "I've actually a-always wished I c-could be a photographer..." she mumbled, and I grinned.

"That's awesome! I think you should go for what you want to do!"

Hinata just smiled sadly and I knew that she didn't really believe she would be able to follow her dream.

Well, I'd just have to change that sometime.

"What about hobbies? What do you do in your free time?" Sakura asked, scooting closer.

Hinata looked down, fiddling with her school skirt. I noticed the slight hesitation and shame in her eyes, and quickly jumped closer, ignoring Sasuke's surprised grunt as he lost his leaning post and toppled over.

"Hinata-chan, we're not like Karin and her friends! We won't make fun of you over your hobbies or anything else! I promise!" I said, giving her a thumb up and flashing my award winning smile –the one that made Mikoto melt— to show my sincerity. Hinata looked up, smiling thankfully before clearing her throat.

"W-well, I've actually b-been playing an o-online game for a long time now. I h-have a few friends there and w-we often get together and d-do quests and such together."

Silence followed.

I saw the way Hinata grew more and more stiff as every second of silence ticked past. Undoubtedly she was thinking we were mentally ridiculing her for her past time, but in truth we were all too shocked to react at first.

Finally, it was Kiba that broke the silence.

"Y-you play online games?" He asked, a smile beginning to curve along his face. Hinata glanced at him, her face reddening slightly before she looked down and nodded.

"Y-yes..."

"That's so awesome and such a coincidence!" Sakura exclaimed, leaning closer and grinning. "Actually all of us play online games too! That's actually how we became really close friends with Sasuke and Shikamaru. They were playing the same game, and then Naruto and Sasuke met in person and after a whole lot of drama and confusion and such, we're all friends!" she paused, thinking and looking at me and Sasuke, who was on the floor glowering, "Well, we're all friends while Naruto and Sasuke are boyfriends."

Hinata's head snapped up quickly and her mouth dropped open. "N-Naruto-kun is Sasuke-kun's b-boyfriend?" she asked, looking between us. I laughed lightly, scratching my head while Sasuke finally pulled himself up. He slung his arm around my shoulder, gave me a peck on the cheek before turning back to the rest and smirking.

"Hn."

"That's Bastard-talk for 'yes, he is my most incredibly awesome and wonderful boyfriend whom I worship'," I supplied helpfully. Sasuke whacked me upside the head while the others laughed.

"Hn. Dobe."

"What is that Bastard-talk for?" Kiba asked, smirking. Sasuke suddenly grinned, his eyes gleaming. Sensing an oncoming perverted comment, I reached up and slapped a hand over his mouth. Shikamaru snorted.

"That is Naruto-talk for 'You really, really don't want to know.'," he said slowly, and I nodded frantically while Sasuke licked my hand to get me to let go.

"Say, what game have you been playing?" Kiba asked, leaning towards Hinata.

"O-oh, it's a really f-fun game called S-Shaiya."

Another silence.

"...Did...Did I hear that right?" Sakura asked slowly, "Did you say _Shaiya_?"

"Um...y-yes, I did. Why?"

"Hn. We all play that game too. It's actually the one we met over," Sasuke explained, frowning when I wiped my gooey hand across his leg.

"Yeah! Hey, what's your character's name? We can add you and your friends into our group!" Kiba said excitedly. If he had a tail, it would be thumping against the ground in his glee.

Hinata looked pleased with the idea. "S-sure! My character name is N-Natoru-hime."

What was that noise?

Wait, just stop and listen...Do you hear that?

No? Well of course you can't because there _wasn't_ any sound. Only an incredibly heavy _silence_.

Hinata looked around, obviously confused by the fact that we were all frozen, gaping stupidly, and looking otherwise gobsmacked. Shikamaru was staring wide eyed, his juice hanging by the straw from his mouth. Sakura's jaw was nearly sweeping the floor while Kiba had frozen in the act of straightening his shirt out. Sasuke and I were leaning heavily against each other, eyes equally wide and mouths slipping open in our joint surprise.

"...D-did I say something w-wrong?"

* * *

"I still can't believe it!" I yelled, waving my hands frantically even as we walked towards the front doors of the school. Last class was over, and the halls were surging with students, several of which had to duck to avoid my flailing limbs. Sasuke walked beside me, occasionally reaching up to block one of my hands. Sakura was on my other side, ducking and dodging my hand like it was some sort of game.

"Hn. It does seem a bit strange...she's the sixth one in our school and our group."

"Exactly! I mean hell, I could accept Kiba and you, and Shikamaru, but that was already pushing it to the extreme. But now Hinata too? How many more people in our group are actually in our school?.!" I rubbed my face with my hand before grinning. "Either way, it's awesome! I always wondered what Natoru-hime was like in person, and now I see she was almost exactly like how I imaged!"

"And what exactly did you imagine?" Sasuke asked, leaning closer. I chuckled, pushing him away slightly.

"Relax teme, it was all purely innocent. My mental self is a virgin, just like my physical body."

Sasuke nodded and leant back, but not before I caught the soft murmur.

"Hn. Not if I have anything to say about it..."

"Wha—"

Before I could truly question what he'd just said, our attention was dragged somewhere to the right when Sakura gasped. We looked up, noticing we'd reached the grounds. Near the school's front gate, Hinata was standing with her head bowed low. Towering over her was Neji, looking his usual grumpy self. He was sneering at her, undoubtedly making more remarks on her choice of friends and past time enjoyments.

I growled, not at all pleased at the scene before me. "That prick just doesn't stop!" I snapped, already marching towards them. Behind me, I heard Sakura whisper frantically.

"Sasuke-kun, aren't you going to stop him? He's going to get into a fight!"

"Hn. School's over...I can join him this time."

"Oh that's not good..." Sakura said slowly, frowning as Sasuke and I headed towards Neji. I narrowed my eyes when I heard Hinata stuttering out apologies while Neji shot them down with sneers and cold words. Seriously, the guy had one hell of an icicle up his ass, and it was time someone ripped it out to teach him a lesson.

"Hey—"

"Oi, you jerk, leave her alone!"

I jerked back, bumping into Sasuke, while I watched stunned as Kiba yanked Neji back, his glare dark enough to impress Sasuke.

Neji whirled around, looking down his long nose at Kiba. "Excuse me? It's none of your business, so back off." And with that, the bastard twirled around again.

Kiba growled loudly, sounding much like the dogs he was so fond of, and he grabbed Neji's shoulder again. "It is my business when a self-righteous prick like you is hurting one of my friends! What did Hinata ever do to you, huh?"

"So you're another one of her worthless little playmates? Hmph, and here I thought she could sink no lower."

All I heard was a loud roar, and after I blinked I saw Kiba and Neji on the ground, the latter trying to block hits from the raging brunet. I quickly ran forward, Sasuke and Sakura following behind. Sakura headed over to Hinata, hugging the girl who was crying after her cousin's cold words. Sasuke and I ran over to the two on the floor, and for a moment we debated over what we should do.

"We should pull them apart."

"The fucker deserves it though!"

"True...but aren't we supposed to make sure Kiba doesn't do anything stupid? Isn't that what friends do?"

"But he really, really deserves it!"

"Still, I think it's better if we pull them apart."

"But he'll still deserve it!"

"Just help me, you dobe."

Finally, Sasuke won and we worked to pull Kiba off of Neji. I felt pride swell at seeing Neji had a bleeding lip and a black eye while Kiba only had a bruise on his cheek and one of his arms had red finger marks. As I pulled him back, I mentally congratulated him. 'Atta boy Kiba!'

Kiba was breathing heavily in our arms, before he roughly shook us off and glared down at Neji.

No one had bothered helping him up.

Heh. Fucker.

Kiba pointed at him, his eyes dark with anger. "Now you listen here, you stupid asswipe. I don't know what crawled up your asshole and died in your throat, but you have no right to talk down to Hinata and her friends just because you've got some superiority complex! You're no better than anyone here, if anything your worse! At least Hinata is kind, cute, has a heart of gold, and actually attempts to befriend others for who they really are, whereas you're such a spoiled little dick you expect everyone to just fall to their knees in your presence and kiss your slimy toes! Well guess what? We're not going to stoop that low! And I'm warning you, out of respect for Hinata's kindness, that if you ever look down on her, belittle her or just simply be horrible to her for no reason but your own pathetic issues, I will hunt you down and beat you to within an inch of your Goddamn afterlife!"

And with that, Kiba huffed, wiped his mouth, grabbed his bag, gave an Oscar winning smile to the stunned girl in Sakura's arms, before he strode out of the school gates, wind ruffling his hair and sunlight lighting his features like a Hollywood chick flick hero.

Sasuke and I stood there, gaping after our friend while Neji slowly clambered to his feet. Without a glance to anyone, he left through the gate and headed in another direction, clutching his mouth to stop bleeding.

Hinata sniffed slightly, looking after Kiba as he left before she turned to Sakura. "W-why did he d-do that...for m-me?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Sakura smiled down at her. "Because...he's your friend, and he really, honestly and truly, cares for you."

Sasuke wrapped an arm around my waist as we went to stand by the blushing girl. "Hn. Well there's that, and the fact he has a huge crush on you."

Hinata's face burned, Sakura sighed, and I smacked the blunt ass across the head.

"Teme."

"Dobe."

There were smiles all around.

* * *

**Naaaw, Kiba's so cute.**

**Sasuke's so blunt...**

**...**

**I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY?...**

**Uhh... Hope everyone's well? Yeah, let's go with that...How ya'll doin'? You good? Great to know! I'm okay...got a new schedule, so haven't got all that much time to write freely anymore, but yeah...I'm doing it...**

**Sorry for Grammatical errors and so forth.**

**_PREVIEW!_**

_While Kiba and Hinata hit it off, Sasuke's busy making plans now that the dog-lover is distracted. Sakura notices the change in the raven, and guessing what it's about, decides not to interfere, but instead turns her focus to some surprising things Shikamaru has discovered. Naruto wonders about his boyfriend's new behaviour._

_"Naruto...I think we should-"_

_"...I'm sorry, could you repeat that? It almost sounded like you said we should-"_

**~This story is sponsored by your reviews!~**_  
_


	35. Chapter 35

**HELLO ALL!**

**Okay, a reeeeaaaallly big heads up to all my STRAIGHT READERS!**

**This chapter will make you feel awkward. Therefore, you can skim read this chapter. If you decide to miss it entirely, you won't be missing anything that can't be caught up on and easily explained later on in a less awkward way, so don't worry. As for the rest of you, who like yaoiness...you'll be fine with this chapter.**

**Warnings: FLUFF...Cheese-us Rice could there be any more fluff?...actually yes but, whatever...language, YAOI...**

**Disclaimer: Ek het nie eienaarskap vir die karakters in hierdie verhaal nie. (I do not have ownership of the characters in this story)**

**:D sorry for the disclaimer...just felt like using the language I never really learned even though it was a necessary language for me... Go figure.**

**Online!  
**

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

Two weeks had passed by since Kiba fought with Neji.

Since that day, Hinata had come back to school telling us that Neji had been a lot kinder lately. He was still an asshole to her, but he kept the insults to a minimum. Both Naruto and Kiba were convinced he needed another ass-kicking, but they were feeling optimistic that perhaps he was changing for the better.

I can't say I share their line of thinking.

To be perfectly honest, I haven't even given Neji, Hinata or any of the others problems any thought lately. I've been too focused on my own...

And it's not even 'problems' for me...it's just a single problem.

And that problem has to do with Naruto.

It's not that he's done anything wrong. The problem is nothing like that at all, Naruto's perfect. He's more than perfect, he's incredible. He's everything I could have asked for in a boyfriend and I'm lucky to have him. He's a great person...

But I'm not.

At least, that's what I think every time this 'problem' arises. Naruto's been through enough, if I were to spring this thought on him... He doesn't need to deal with it. Especially not since the finale of Kabuto's trial is this week. Luckily my father has been keeping it under wraps and Naruto has been allowed to live on with minimal confrontation to both the lawyers, judges and anyone else in a suit that's been trying to get something from him. I'll have to thank my father for doing that.

The issue I've been having is more to do with my wants...my so called 'needs'. I felt like I was trapped in a box at the moment, begging for release and the only thing that could give it was Naruto. But then I was hit with guilt.

After all, the subject matter of my problem...Naruto hasn't had many good experiences with it. Although, then again he hasn't had any experiences with it at all...I hope.

"Hey Sasuke!" I jumped at the call, turning to see Naruto running up to me. Behind him, Hinata was walking with Sakura while Shikamaru and Kiba walked behind, chatting lazily. Well, Shikamaru was chatting lazily, while Kiba looked like a tightly wound spring ready to rocket off into orbit at the slightest poke.

I was sorely tempted to poke him and see if it would actually happen. My problem would be so much easier to deal with if he were somewhere in orbit.

Kiba had probably made my problem ten times worse by...preventing it before.

Hn, I suppose a lot of you-whoever '_you'_ are anyway- have already guessed my problem?

I, Uchiha Sasuke, want to take my relationship with my boyfriend, Uzumaki Naruto...to the next level.

And I haven't the slightest clue how to do that.

We've been dating for just over four months now, and I realize that that isn't really as long as one might need before 'going all the way'.

But I do really care for Naruto. I do love him.

...

Love him...

It's amazing how I can say that so easily inside my head, but every time I try to say it out loud, it's like someone shoved an invisible wad of cotton in my throat. I remember a time earlier in the week that I tried to say it.

It was late in the evening, and I'd stayed over at Naruto's apartment that night. We'd been doing homework and snacking on chips, biscuits and, in my case, a nice tomato and cheese salad.

I remember looking over at Naruto, seeing him concentrating on his work, a biscuit hanging from his mouth. He'd looked so simple, so normal.

He'd looked so perfect.

I'd opened my mouth, called him beautiful...I swear the look he'd sent me had been so comical if I were any less of an Uchiha I'd have started crying from laughing so hard.

"Teme, what the hell?"

I'd tried to say it then. I'd opened my mouth, started with "Naruto...I..." and then I'd frozen. I couldn't get the words out.

Oh God...my life had just become a clichéd teenage drama. What if Mizuki-sensei was right and I started to sparkle in the fucking sunlight?

Well if any student would turn into a poodle when constipated, I'd peg it as Kiba.

I groaned, letting my head bump against my hand as I walked beside Naruto. He sent me an odd look, silently asking what was wrong, but all I could do was shake my head. I couldn't tell him about my inner monologues of corny romance novel-worthy drama.

As we neared the school gates, I kept looking over at Naruto. What would he think about it? Would he freak out if I just asked him or would he actually consider it? Kabuto's trial will end this week, and Naruto only has to be there to witness it I suppose...but will he be ready for what I want?

Would I be selfish enough to demand it after all he went through?

"-asuke? Yo Sasuke? You okay?"

I blinked, only now noticing the hand waving in my face. Unsurprisingly it was Naruto, and I felt a little guilty at the concerned look in his eyes. Grabbing his hand, I kissed his knuckles softly to reassure him.

"Hn. I'm fine."

Naruto just smiled, a little confused. "Uh okay...well anyway, Shikamaru's been calling you for like, five minutes now. He wants to talk to you or something." Naruto nodded over to the left where Shikamaru was now standing alone, staring at me. I nodded, leaning down to give Naruto a quick kiss...well it was intended to be quick, I swear.

"Oi, oi, break it up! No one needs to see that!" Kiba grumbled as he walked past with the girls. I flipped him off but broke away from Naruto, walking over to Shikamaru while he followed the dog-loving freak.

"What's up?"

Shikamaru sent me a steady look, one that I knew he gave when he was making evaluations in his mind. It was the same one he'd given me when we'd first figured out we played Shaiya together.

Finally, he sighed. "What's eating you?" he asked.

I rubbed my forehead with my hand in aggravation. It figures Shikamaru would be the first to realize that I was acting weird due to internal struggles. Nodding towards the building, we began a slow walk to class.

"I'm...I'm thinking of asking Naruto...to—"

"Sasuke, if you utter the words 'marry me' I will slap you across the face," Shikamaru said blankly. I smirked, placing my hands in my pocket.

"No, Shikamaru. I'm not that stupid and dramatic," I sighed, looking over at him. Of all the people to talk about this with, was he really the best? Did Shikamaru even know the first thing about the subject or was he as clueless as I was when it came to that area? "I want to take our relationship to the next level." Shikamaru sent me a look, showing his suspicions and silently demanding I confirm them.

I did.

"I want to ask him to have sex with me."

I suppose I should be thankful that it was Shikamaru standing there when I said that, since he knew how to keep a secret. The moment the words left my mouth, it was like someone shoved all the Uchiha training out of me and replaced it with that of a fumbling, bumbling, idiotic geek. My face burned and I had to lean against the wall as thoughts of what I'd just said and all it entailed echoed in my mind. Saying it so bluntly really put it in perspective for me, and holy shit was I seeing it. I could picture it now, the night it would happen, the setting and the feelings and the sensations, and that both disturbed me and turned me on.

A hand on my shoulder snapped me out of my sudden daze of day-wet-dreams and I looked up into the eyes of one very bored looking genius.

"Sasuke...proceed with extreme caution and make sure that you are both ready for it before trying. That's all I'm willing to offer on this subject."

Shikamaru turned and left the hall, leaving me alone to gather my Uchiha-wits about me and compose myself. Once that was done, I quickly headed for class. I didn't want to have to explain why I was late.

'Oh sorry, sir. I was busy having wet dreams during the day about sleeping with my boyfriend and I got a little side-tracked.' That would go over splendidly.

_Not_.

As I entered class, Naruto walked up, brushing his hand over mine gently.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Looking him in the eye, I was tempted to pull him away and tell him what was really bothering me.

"Yes, I'm sure, Dobe."

I'll have an order of Lies with a side of Guilt please!

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

The past two weeks have been great...

For Kiba that is.

Ever since his fight with Neji, he and Hinata have really hit it off. They've been spending more and more time together, and Kiba's been a lot happier since. I'm glad they're hitting it off so well really.

But I've got a problem of my own.

And its name is Sasuke.

I'm not sure what's been bugging him lately, but he's been acting strange. He's more distant, he keeps spacing out and more than once I've caught him giving me these really weird looks, as if he was hungry and I looked like a big tomato for him to sink his teeth into.

...

That sounded so fucking Vampire's Suck right there, but it's the truth.

But of course, being an anti-social bastard, he won't tell me what's eating him so I'm left to sit with his moodiness and broodiness and subsequent stares of impending cannibalism.

Oh goody.

Stupid twat.

"Is it just me or is Sasuke acting weird?" I asked while everyone worked in Maths. Mizuki was busy working on worksheets-pun not intended- and too busy calculating to pay attention to the few whispering wonder-kids in the class. Sakura looked up from her own work and hummed softly in thought.

"I guess he has been acting a bit odd. But...I think I know why," she tilted her head, looking over at Sasuke. I followed her lead and there he was, giving me the look that made me feel like it would be wise to invest in some pepper spray and anti-cannibal armour. As soon as he caught us looking, he started slightly and turned back to his worksheet.

I stared at him for a few seconds before turning to Sakura, a resigned look on my face. "He's plotting my imminent demise isn't he?"

Sakura smiled. "Possibly."

"Oh that's reassuring, Sakura-chan," I said, rolling my eyes. She just giggled and went back to work, a soft mutter all that she gave in parting.

"The imminent demise of your innocence maybe..."

"Wha—"

"Uzumaki, as riveting as I'm sure your conversation with Haruno is, I'd really prefer it of you focused on your work and didn't give me any extra paper-work to do today," Mizuki interrupted, sighing and rubbing his eyes tiredly. I nodded, quickly turning back to my own work with a soft apology.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sasuke give me that look again.

Note to self: Respect tomatoes...you now know how they feel under the gaze of one Uchiha Sasuke.

The rest of the class passed by easily, and one the bell rang I quickly packed my bag and sidled up to Sasuke. He was still finishing up a few sums on his worksheet, and that only proved to surprise me more.

Since when did Sasuke not finish work before class was over?

...That's it. This proves it.

Sasuke's inner circuits were malfunctioning. It's the only explanation...

Well, that or he was abducted by identity stealing aliens and I'm looking at a faulty imposter.

That could be true too.

"Hey Sasu?"

Okay, now I'm more certain than ever about the alien theory...Sasuke just jumped. Sasuke _never_ jumps like _that_.

He looked up, his eyes a bit wider than usual. "Oh...Hi Naruto."

I stared at him.

"...That's it?" I asked slowly, "'Hi Naruto'? That's all you're going to say?"

Sasuke blinked and nodded slowly.

"Yes?"

"No, 'Hn, Dobe' or 'What is it, moron' or even 'Hey there hot-stuff, what say you and I go find a nice closet somewhere and get _funky_ together?'" I finished, leaning against his desk and crossing my arms. He stared up at me, his expression turning odd after my last example of what he could've said.

After a minute of total silence, I sighed loudly. "Come on Sasuke, tell me what's bothering you! You've been acting strange lately and it's starting to creep me out!" I snapped, losing patience as I pulled him from his seat. He was still in that weird daze, so I groaned and started to toss his things into his bag before dragging him from the classroom. He didn't snap out of his daze until we had reached the English classroom, where Itachi was already waiting for us.

"My dear baby brother and pseudo-brother of baby-ness, how nice to see you!" Itachi greeted, letting us into the classroom ahead of the other students. I stuck my tongue out at Itachi while Sasuke just walked to his desk, still silent. Itachi smirked, his hand reaching up to flick my face near my mouth.

"Careful, Naruto-kun, or next time I'll rip that tongue of yours clean out of your mouth. And then Sasuke would be on my case until it got reattached," Itachi snickered when I covered my mouth defensively.

"Geez, are all the Uchiha guys this violent? Where did you come from?.!"

"Well Naruto-kun, when a man and woman love each other very much, and have raging hormones, they find a nice, soft and bouncy bed where the woman lies on her back, stomach or however she wishes and then the man takes his pe—"

"OOOOKAY! I GET IT! I GET IT!" I yelled, covering my ears and rushing to my seat while the Spawn of Satan laughed like a loon. Honestly, every time that guy opened his mouth, an innocent child somewhere began screaming bloody murder.

The class filled in and once everyone was seated, Itachi launched into the lesson. We were currently reading a long, boring book about some old legend of something or other- if you didn't guess, I had no clue what the book was about, what it was called or who even wrote it- and in the end it was boring and I had better things to do.

Like try and figure out what the hell was up with Sasuke. Resting my chin on my hand, I surreptitiously glanced at him, noticing the way his eyes were unfocused and his lips were slightly parted.

He was lost in thought over something big. I could tell. Whatever it was that was bugging him was enough to make him lose focus. It was enough to bring down his Uchiha-coolness to average human levels.

It must've been big.

...

Maybe he was trying to solve world hunger?

Nah, that's way too kind for him. Maybe he's contemplating the many different ways to use tomatoes in food. I'm sure that would keep him busy.

But enough to lose focus even in school?

"Little brother, step up to the front and read this next paragraph, if you please," Itachi called, not looking up from his own book.

There was silence.

After a full minute Itachi looked up, along with several other students, only to see Sasuke still in his seat, his eyes unfocused and his book lying open in front of him. Itachi frowned.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke jumped-again-and looked over at him, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Please stand up and read the paragraph," Itachi continued, nodding his head to the front. Sasuke swallowed; standing and grabbing his book before slowly making his way to the front. He bit his lip, looking at the page before sighing and looking to Itachi.

"...Which paragraph, sir?"

Holy shit-balls.

Was _Sasuke_ just _polite_ to _Itachi_?

That's it. It was official. My poor hard-assed boyfriend has been abducted by identity thieving aliens and is probably lying on his stomach on an examination table somewhere, getting some large probe shoved up his ass.

The stick up there will finally have company.

Itachi seemed to be just as thrown off as I was, but he composed himself a lot better than me-my elbow had slipped and my jaw hit the table- and he quickly pointed somewhere in his own book.

"Third paragraph, little brother."

Sasuke didn't even scowl at the nickname, instead letting his eyes find the page. Clearing his throat, he began to read out loud.

" 'With a fluid grace, she made her way over to the pale man, her hair shining in the golden sunlight like a gem amidst a sea of blackened coals. His eyes followed her every move like a hawk waiting for its prey to arrive, and as she seated herself at the table, he caught the scent of her perfume on a rogue breeze. The smell enticed him, and like a moth to the flame he moved forward, his hands reaching out for her. She was surprised by his sudden move and leant away, her large...'" Sasuke took a breath, his face tightening, " 'Her large blue eyes filled with shy questioning. As he moved closer she shied away from his touch, the beginnings of fear colouring her sapphire eyes and her soft features. She was...s-scared of him now. He offered a smile, hoping to reassure her that he meant her no harm, no ill intent...only his utmost affection, devotion and...and love.'" Sasuke snapped his book shut and tossed it onto his desk.

Itachi frowned, stepping forward. "Sasuke, is something wrong?"

Sasuke glared at him. "Fuck you," he spat.

Everyone was taken aback, and Itachi's face melted into a cold stone mask of indifference. But I knew that he was surprised, confused, and secretly very much hurt at the cold words. With swift and precise movements, he moved to the front of the room.

"As your teacher, I'm giving you detention for that on Friday." Itachi quickly wrote on a slip while Sasuke stood nearby, glaring at him. I watched apprehensively as Itachi handed the small pink slip of paper to Sasuke, who practically ripped it from his hands. Slowly, Itachi stood up and towered over Sasuke.

It was scary that Sasuke stood his ground this time. Something was so wrong.

"And as your older brother..." Itachi began slowly, and his hand moved.

I stood up as a smack echoed while the rest of the class gasped. Sasuke's eyes were wide as he faced the board, his cheek turning red from the hit. Itachi looked as cold as stone as he stared down at him, his hand slowly falling to his side.

"I'm teaching you a lesson. Don't take out your pathetic insecurities with yourself on me, foolish little brother." And with that, Itachi sat down. "Get out of my class, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't hesitate before he was out the door.

I bit my lip, turning to face Itachi. He was breathing heavily through his nose, the only sign that showed how unsettled he truly was; a sign that only I knew to look for. I took a breath before walking up to his desk.

"May I please go and talk to him?"

Itachi rubbed his face with his hand while I blocked him from view from the class before he heaved a soundless sigh.

"Alright," he said softly, and I nodded my thanks before moving towards the door. Before I left completely, Itachi called out. "Naruto..."

I turned and Itachi looked me dead in the eye. "Don't take anything he says to heart...he's struggling with something and he's always been the type to lash out. Forgive him in advance."

I smiled, nodding. "I know, Pseudo-big brother." And with that I left in search of my wayward boyfriend.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

The sounds of birds chirping was all I could hear from my spot behind the school in the shade of some trees. My cheek still stung from the solid slap Itachi had given me, and gingerly I prodded the bruising area.

I had only seen Itachi that way once before and it was towards our father...back when he'd been obsessed with his work and neglecting us. Itachi had had enough when I was ten and I'd cried because father shooed me away on my birthday so he could work. Itachi had entered his study, and an hour later father had come out looking as close to tears as he'd probably ever get.

Ever since then he's always made time for us one way or another.

I felt bad for saying that to Itachi. I know that he hadn't done anything wrong. There was no way he'd meant for it...

But that paragraph...that story.

It was way too close to what I feared than I found comfortable and I'd snapped. And that was the truth.

It wasn't so much the guilt of asking the question; I understood that now. The reason the whole issue about sex had been bugging me was because I was scared that, should I ask it, Naruto would become scared and leave me.

I got it now.

'_Don't take out your pathetic insecurities with yourself on me, foolish little brother._'

"Shit." I let my head fall into my hands, the look in Itachi's eyes haunting my memory.

I really shouldn't have said that to him. I had no right to be angry with him.

But damn...

You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, big brother.

But what's done is done. I couldn't take back the words I said to him. Only two words yet they had done such damage. I'd hurt Itachi undeservingly on his part, and now it was up to me to make it better.

It's at moments like these that I hate being a emotionally awkward. I'm not good with apologies.

The faint sound of footsteps alerted me to the oncoming person, but I just couldn't lift my head. It was probably a teacher, coming to scold me for skipping class or something. But it's not like I was really...Itachi kicked me out.

Holy shit...my brother kicked me out...

That's bad.

I sighed, as whoever it was came to a stop in front of me. Waiting for the imminent questioning, I wondered how to explain why I was out here.

I was very much surprised when a pair of arms wrapped around me in a hug, and I jerked back only to see blond hair.

Naruto.

"Are you going to tell me what's making you act this way, or must I just leave you to be prissy on your own?"

I swallowed thickly, trying to block out his scent. Seriously he was wearing the damn spray that we'd gotten him, the one my mother _knew_ I liked, and it was not helping me at all.

Slowly, Naruto pulled away and looked me in the eye, his gaze cool but concerned. He wanted an answer...and I couldn't help but want to give him one.

"Naruto...The thing that's been bothering me...I just don't know if I should tell you..." I looked to the side, not sure what to do. Shikamaru had said proceed with caution. Would telling him now be cautious or reckless? I didn't know which was considered which anymore! How the hell was I supposed to proceed with caution when I couldn't even tell which counted as cautious anymore?

Naruto leant back, a small smile on his face. "Sasuke, you can tell me anything! Something is bothering you, and it's making you act strange...And it's affecting more than just you. I'm affected, the rest of our friends are affected...your family is affected. Tell me what's wrong so we can work through it together!"

God, he's so innocently optimistic.

It's too much!

"Naruto," I began, looking all around for a sign, a signal from Heaven to tell me whether this was the right thing or not. "I..."

Naruto frowned, his brows drawing closer together. He was getting impatient.

"Come on Sasuke, you never hesitate over anything! Just spit it out already, dammit!"

"Naruto, I think we should have sex!" I said in a rush before sucking in a breath and holding it, staring wide eyed at my boyfriend.

Who, I might add, had frozen.

After a long while of blank shocked staring between us, Naruto's mouth began to move.

"I'm sorry...could you repeat that? It almost sounded like you said we should...have sex?"

Slowly, with my hands clenching on my arms, I nodded. "I...I did."

More silence followed my confirmation and Naruto slowly sank to his behind, his knees obviously not being strong enough to hold him up anymore. And just like that, the fear that had been struck earlier with the reading was emerging. Naruto wasn't rejecting me, but he wasn't accepting me either. I was waiting in a dark pit of anxiety, wondering what my desires had done to our relationship. Had it destroyed it? Had it strengthened it? Had I just filled in another blank that needed to be filled?

Why wasn't he talking?

"N-Naruto?"

Why wasn't he saying anything? Why was he just sitting there, frozen solid, staring at me like that?

Suddenly, he took a breath, blinking before looking at his hands. He seemed to be thinking.

...

Was that good? Was it bad? What was going to happen now?

So many questions, and yet not a single answer was going to be pulled from the sky. I could feel sweat forming on my brow from my anxiety. I wish he would say something...anything...anything to break this unbearable silence filled with the harsh beating of a desperate wait.

"Na—"

"I..." I stopped talking as he spoke, leaning closer as I waited for him to continue. He fidgeted with his hands, his eyes darting around. "I...Sasuke I don't know...I mean...It's a big step. How long have we been going out?"

"Just over four months," I replied immediately, swallowing quickly. Naruto bit his lip.

"That's not very long; when you think about it...Sasuke I don't know if we're ready. Not just me but you too..." He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes briefly looking at me before darting away while his cheeks turned red. I sucked in another breath.

He wasn't accepting me, per say, but he definitely wasn't totally rejecting me. He wasn't saying 'Hell no, I'm breaking up with you!' or running away screaming.

That was a good thing, right?

"S-so...you want to wait some more?" I asked, shifting slightly. I felt so nervous. It was like I was a stranger in my own body.

Naruto suddenly blushed even more, his fingers tapping on his thigh nervously. He glanced at me again before looking away.

"W-Well...I...I'm...That is...You...I..."

Translation: Actually _no_, I was hoping you'd argue about waiting and convince me that _now_ was okay.

"Naruto," I reached forward slowly, grabbing his fidgety hands tightly. I waited until he looked me in the eye before speaking again. "Do you, yourself, want to do it with me? Honestly?"

Naruto bit his lip again, and I worried that it would begin to bleed under the abuse.

"Yes..."

The whisper was so soft I almost missed it, but the world seemed to sink into absolute silence once I heard it. The leaves skittering across the floor made no noise, the breeze didn't stir me at all.

The world had frozen and narrowed down to Naruto and his blushing, embarrassed and ever so sincere face.

"...Wait, really?" I asked, disbelieving that I'd heard right.

Naruto nodded slowly, still looking utterly embarrassed. His hands shook slightly in mine, and I squeezed them tighter.

"You...You really want to have sex with me? You're serious?"

"Dammit Teme! Yes I'm serious! I want to go all the way with you! How many more times must I confirm that?" Naruto snapped, his face now a lovely shade of crimson.

And there I was.

Sitting behind the school with my boyfriend; holding his hands in my own as he confessed that he would actually like to take that large step with me and go all the way. That he would actually like to do _it_ with me.

"Holy shit!" I laughed, surprising both Naruto and myself. I pulled myself together, pushing down the urges to ask him 'Is now fine? Can we go now?' because even I knew that was too much to ask. Instead, I scooted closer and pulled him into a kiss, feeling the way he was shy all of a sudden before he kissed back. Pulling away, I smiled and rested my forehead against his.

"I should've known not to panic..." I mumbled, feeling stupid for ever having doubted it all in the first place. But then again I had reason. Naruto hummed in question, his eyes closed.

"I was afraid that if I brought up the subject, you would freak out and leave me." I felt a soft press of his lips on mine and knew it was his way of reassuring me that that wasn't the case. "I guess I just thought that, after the whole thing with that bastard Kabuto...you'd be unwilling to do it with me."

Naruto let out a shaky breath, his head moving from side to side slightly. I glanced up at him, my head still resting by his, and he slowly looked at me. His eyes were shining with affection with a hint of hesitation, but above all there was trust.

"I am nervous...and I don't think it'll be very easy for me, at least not right now. But I...I do want to do it. And I trust that you won't do anything to hurt me." His voice shook near the end and I dived forward for a quick kiss, making sure to let my emotions show.

"Never...I would never," I breathed, littering his face with short kisses. He smiled, nodding slowly.

"But...Just give me some time to wrap my head around it, okay? A few days..."

"As long as you need, Naru. I can wait," I assured, bumping my head against his. I just wanted to be close to him now; to show him that I was there for him and I wouldn't ever try to force him into anything. Slowly, I moved closer and wrapped my arms around him, bringing him closer in a tight embrace. He sighed, sinking into my arms and resting his head against my shoulder.

"Thank you Sasuke."

I held him tighter, leaning down to kiss him again. Slowly, I licked at his lips until he granted me entrance, and I eagerly, yet gently, explored the familiar territory. He sighed under me, returning my kisses and pressing closer.

It was moments like these that I treasured. Moments where we were alone together, just sharing a simple touch and kiss, or talking. Even sitting in silence, holding each other, was enough to make my cold heart swell and burn with happiness.

As sappy and pathetic as that sounded...

The kisses started out innocent, I promise, but...well we were all alone behind the school where no one could see or hear us at this time of day...

How could I resist the opportunity to molest Naruto?

Smirking, I let my hands roam down until they slid under his shirt. He jumped at the contact as I moved down to bite and lick at his neck, already betting with my inner self on how many hickeys I could give him before we had to return to class. As we slid down with Naruto on his back and me hovering over him, I barely heard the soft sigh of relief and the gentle mutter.

"And my bastard is back."

"Hn."

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I sighed, rubbing the large bruises on my neck as I lay down on my bed.

I had never expected that _that_ was what had been bothering Sasuke this whole time. Sure, I'd given the passing thought to the idea of us going all the way, but so soon? It wasn't what I had expected.

But at the same time...it felt like we'd been together for so much longer than just over four months. And I did trust Sasuke. I meant every word I said to him. I knew that he wouldn't ever try to hurt me, and that if I wasn't comfortable at the time he would give me the option to back out.

But I didn't want to back out...I wanted this.

Groaning, I rolled over onto my stomach. I knew that I wasn't ready just yet. I still needed a few days to get over the shock and wrap my head around it all, but I felt like I could be ready soon. I could give Sasuke what he wanted...what he needed.

What I needed...

But for now I had a headache. I'd leave all the serious thinking for later.

After our make-out session behind the school, during which Sasuke's mouth made-out with almost every inch of my damn body, we'd returned in time to grab our bags. Itachi had been out, so Sasuke didn't have the chance to apologise. I told him that he had to do it when he saw Itachi tonight, because he had been in the wrong. Itachi hadn't deserved it.

Sakura had questioned me on Sasuke's behaviour, and at first I wasn't sure what to tell her. But she was my best friend, so I told the truth.

Surprisingly, she'd just smiled, said she knew it, and told me to be careful. She also said that if Sasuke hurt me she'd personally castrate him before disembowelling him slowly.

It was nice to have a caring, slightly psychotic, friend looking out for me. But it seemed that aside from keeping an eye on me from a distance, Sakura wasn't going to get very involved in mine and Sasuke business. Instead she spent more time with Shikamaru. Apparently, he'd found something interesting about Shaiya, and he and Sakura were checking it out. I didn't know what it was but honestly I didn't much care. I had bigger things to deal with.

"Hey Naruto, you in there?"

My eyes widened as I turned to look at my wall.

Kiba.

I totally forgot about him and his strange obsession of keeping me a virgin. What would we do when he found out? We couldn't do the deed here, Kiba would hear it and probably come bashing through my door with a chainsaw.

I rather wanted Sasuke to stay in one piece, thank you very much.

But I felt weird about doing it at his parent's house...there was just something strange at the thought. When I was there, although we still kissed, hugged, cuddled and molested-Sasuke did anyway- it was still like a home with Mikoto as the mom, Fugaku as the dad, Itachi as that psychotic child no one talked about and Sasuke as the son. I didn't think of Sasuke as a brother, really, but...somehow I just couldn't think of doing it in the Uchiha house.

So then where?

It's not like we had many choices...

"Naruto? You okay?"

I snapped out of my thoughts at the insistent banging and quickly lifted my head enough to speak.

"Yeah! I'm fine, just tired!"

"...You sure?"

"Yeah, Kiba. Thanks for the concern."

"Okay...Well, I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks Kiba."

While Kiba receded, I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling.

So much was on my mind now.

Sasuke, sex with Sasuke, hiding from Kiba, school work and life itself...

My headache was getting worse.

"Hey Naruto, just a heads-up! They're going to cut off the hot water for a while in the building while repairs are being done. So don't expect a hot shower till morning!" Kiba yelled through the wall.

I sighed, lifting my arm and sniffing.

Gross...I really needed a shower.

But there was no hot water...

Sometimes, even now, I still disliked my life a little bit.

* * *

**Well there you have it!**

**Naruto and Sasuke are gonna do the deed!**

**BUT!**

**There are no lemons in this story, so you will NOT actually read it...but you should all already know this, I did put a note in one AN on a chapter that this story was to REMAIN T-Rated when it came to lemonade...**

**Anyhoo...not much to say tonight...so onto the preview!**

**Kao: WHAT ABOUT US? We haven't made our appearance yet!**

**Me: Do you actually have anything to say?**

**Kao: YES!...well...er...no not really...**

**Me: EXACTLY! So toegesluit aan, jy gek. **

**Kao: DON'T USE A LANGUAGE I DON'T KNOW! THAT'S NOT FAIR! D:**

**Me: Pfft, dude I hardly know it either...I had to google some of the words. :'D**

**Kao: Cheater.**

**Me: Muahahaha!**

**PREVIEW!**

_The trial with Kabuto finally comes to an end. What is the result? Sasuke needs to plan out how to make his first time with Naruto perfect, but he's rather clueless. Will anyone be able to help him? Meanwhile, Sakura convinces Hinata to help her keep Kiba distracted in order to give the guys a chance at a peaceful night...how will that go?_

**~This Story is Sponsored by Your Reviews!~**_  
_


	36. Chapter 36

**Yo everyone! How ya'll doing? Good? Good. We all like being good...'Cause, ya know, good people get presents at Christmas. :D**

**XD sorry, randomness attacks at the oddest times.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter...But I'm seriously going to start wrapping everything up now...Seriously...it's almost at 40 chapters...That's LONG! So yeah, I'm gonna start wrapping things up with this story. It has to end sometime, and if I finish this, it'll be a wonderful achievement, a great memory, and a load off my back. XD But fear not, I have many more stories planned so I will never vanish! (unless aliens abduct me for experiments...then I might vanish for a while)**

**So, anyway, here we go.**

**Warnings: Language, brief SI and yaoiness(Not really though)**

**Disclaimer: Did you know that a sneeze is one tenth of an orgasm? :O ...But on a different note, I do not own Naruto. D:**

**Online!  
**

* * *

Thump...thump...thump...

A steady rhythm. Not too fast, not to slow. Just perfect.

Thump...thump...thump...

_Yes_...now perhaps a little bit faster to get _more_.

Thump..thump..thump..thump...

Good. Very good. Working like a charm.

Hmm...A bit faster...and maybe a bit _harder_ too...

Thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump.

Perfect.

Now keep that rhythm. Oh yeah...

So close now...so close...just a bit more...

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT I'M _AWAKE_! FUCK!"

I grinned, tossing down the pillows I'd been smacking against the wall back onto my bed as I listened to Kiba growl and grumble his way about his room next door.

"Just doing my civic duty, Kibbles!"

"I'll '_civic duty_' your ass when I get outside!"

Laughing, I finished putting on my suit, which I'd stopped halfway through to wake up Kiba for the third time. Seriously, why wasn't he getting up this morning?

Brushing aside the thoughts of Kiba's sudden laziness, I shrugged on my jacket and sighed, looking at myself in the mirror.

Today was the final day of the whole trial with Kabuto. My direct involvement had been kept to a minimum, thanks to Fugaku pulling a few strings in my favour. Today I was going to go to the court, with the rest of the Uchihas, to see the verdict. Fugaku had already arranged with the school that Sasuke and I be allowed off. I didn't know if Itachi was attending or not.

The plan was that the Uchiha's would pick me up from my apartment at eight, so I had to be ready before then. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair in the hopes of smoothing it out some.

My fingers ended up tangled in a knot and I hissed, struggling to pull them out with minimal damage. Groaning, I turned around, planning on grabbing a comb to tackle the tangles that were my hair.

I ended up face to face with a member of the Mafia.

"HOLY SWEET JESUS, DON'T KILL ME!" I screamed, turning and fleeing into my bed, trying to burrow beneath the covers for safety. "JUST TAKE WHAT YOU WANT, I WON'T LOOK I SWEAR!"

There was a snort.

"What the hell are you talking about dobe?"

I stuck my head out of the blankets and saw the 'Mafia' guy smirking down at me from behind his large shades, his hands in his suit pants pockets.

Despite the obvious 'I've-got-a-gun-please-make-me-use-it' look, that hair was recognisable anywhere.

"Sasuke! You damn near gave me a heart attack, you asshole!" I snapped, placing a hand over my beating heart as I sat up, the covers pooling around me. Sasuke snickered and tapped his shades.

"I guess these were worth the money. But then again, it's not too hard to fool an idiot like you, ne?"

I growled, more than ready to punch him in the gut for that, but before I could move something swung up behind him.

"Sas—"

A loud thud sounded and Sasuke flew forwards, hitting against the bed and coughing as his hands came up to clutch the back of his head. I blinked, staring at the space he had been only to see Kiba standing there, breathing heavily with wild eyes and wielding a hockey stick.

"Don't worry Naruto! I won't let this freak hurt you!" Kiba wheezed, swinging the stick up again for another blow.

"Wait, Kiba!" I quickly jumped in front of Sasuke, who was cringing and gripping his head tightly. "He's not a freak! It's only Sasuke!" I said quickly.

Kiba paused. "...It's Sasuke?" he asked slowly. I nodded. Kiba swung the stick higher. "Fuck, I'll have to hit harder then."

"KIBA!" I snapped, jumping forward and ripping the hockey stick from his grasp as he started laughing. Turning away from him, I bent over to help Sasuke back to his feet. He grimaced, rubbing his head.

"...I can't see straight," he mumbled, groaning and tilting his head back. I sent a glare to Kiba, who just shrugged and crossed his arms, whistling innocently. Gently, I parted Sasuke's hair to see the bump, frowning when I spotted it. It looked like it would hurt, but it didn't seem too bad.

"Kiba how hard did you hit him?" I asked, running a gentle finger over the spot and listening to Sasuke hiss in response.

Kiba hummed. "Well, I tensed my arms for about four seconds before swinging. I'd say I hit him...relatively mildly."

"I'm surprised you even know that word." Sasuke growled, pushing the shades on his face higher. Kiba glared at him, reaching for the stick.

"Obviously I didn't hit him hard enough. Once more should do the trick."

"Alright enough!" I yelled, grabbing the stick away again and pointing it threateningly at Kiba. "Thanks for coming to my unneeded rescue, Kiba, but I'm fine, Sasuke's in pain and you can now go and get your ass ready for school." I shoved the stick back into his hands and ushered him out the door, listening to him snigger about having hit Sasuke with a hockey stick.

Undoubtedly that would go down in history for him.

Once Kiba was gone, I went back over to Sasuke and parted his hair again, eyeing the bump. "It shouldn't be too bad."

Sasuke nodded slowly, reaching up to feel it and sighing. "What did I ever do to Kiba to make him hate me so much?" he grumbled, glaring towards the wall. I chuckled, reaching up to pull off the shades. When they were gone, I gasped at seeing the black eye Sasuke was sporting.

"Holy...Sasuke? What happened to your eye?"

He twitched, sighing loudly before leading me towards the door. "It happened last night..."

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

**-Last Night-**

I sighed loudly as I heard the front door, indicating Itachi had _finally_ come home. I knew that I had to apologise, and in truth I wanted to, so I'd been waiting for him to come back since I arrived home. Slightly nervous as to how he would react, I walked into the hallway in time to see his bedroom door slam shut. Sighing again, I picked my way towards it, hearing mother talking downstairs. It sounded like Kisame was visiting.

That would explain why it had taken him so long to come home.

Not wanting to apologise in front of everyone-I still had _some_ pride thank you very much- I decided to tackle Itachi while he was getting changed.

Slowly, I pushed the door open only to see that he was in bed, the covers pulled right over his head and cocooning him away from the world.

Hating seeing the fear-inspiring devil that was my brother curled up in a ball under the covers, I walked towards the lump and poked it gently.

"Hey Itachi...I'm..." I sighed, lowering my eyes as the lump only shifted slightly. "I just...I wanted to say...I'm really, really s-sorry about the way I spoke to you earlier today. It wasn't fair on you...I was just so frustrated and, a bit scared, about talking to Naruto about something important, and that damn paragraph you made me read was so close to what I was scared would happen...I guess I just placed the blame on you since I didn't know who else to place it on." The lump shifted again before stilling and I sighed, turning and sitting on the bed beside it. My hands clasped in my lap and I stared at them, biting my lip.

After a moment of silence, I sighed again.

"I'm really sorry...big brother," I mumbled, closing my eyes.

The lump shifted again and I heard the sounds of sheets moving. I didn't open my eyes, waiting for Itachi to say something when...

"That was the _cutest_ thing I've ever heard you say, un!"

My eyes snapped open as a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around me and dragged me, kicking and screaming, under the covers.

"What!.? Who the—"

"Baby Uchiha apologising to his big brother! That was so cute, un!" Deidara cooed, hugging me tightly and stroking my hair like I was some kind of pet. "I can't wait to tell Itachi exactly what you said, un! It was so sincere!"

"Deidara! You bastard, what are you doing here?.!" I yelled, struggling to be free of his grip and trying to get out from under the blanket.

"Well, Itachi came over to our place all sad and mope-y, un, so we decided to come stay the night to see if we could cheer him up! But I'm certain once he hears about your apology; he'll be right as rain, un!" Deidara explained, crushing me a bit more with his hug. I gasped and growled, starting to throw punches.

"Let me go you jerk!"

"Aw, but Sasukeeee—OUCH!" I landed a hit on Deidara's cheek, and he growled. "That's not nice, un." He punched my arm, and I snarled and elbowed his stomach.

Before too long, we were rolling on the ground, throwing punches and kicks until Kisame and Itachi finally came and separated us.

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

"...And that's how I got the black eye," Sasuke concluded, his shoulders sagging as we walked towards the Uchiha's car.

I clutched my stomach, laughing so hard tears were pooling at the corners of my eyes.

"Ahahahaa! Oh my...oh that's rich!" I gasped, while Sasuke just grumbled under his breath. Mikoto was standing outside the car, waiting for us. When I was closer she pulled me into a hug, her arms tense.

"Are you feeling okay, Naruto-kun?" she asked kindly, looking down at me. "If you don't want to see that person, we'll understand and arrange something!"

I smiled, shaking my head. "It's alright, Mikoto. I'm not alone this time. I'm not afraid."

Sasuke wrapped an arm around my shoulders while Mikoto nodded and placed a kiss on my forehead. I smiled as I climbed into the car, sliding up next to Itachi who nodded in greeting.

"Hello, Devil-Spawn."

"Hello, Minion."

The usual greeting.

Fugaku grunted his hello as Sasuke and Mikoto climbed into the car and closed their doors. As soon as the car started moving, I rested my head on Sasuke's shoulder, closing my eyes. He wrapped an arm around my waist and rested his cheek against my head.

We both ignored the 'Awww' from Itachi.

The ride to the courthouse was silent until Mikoto switched on the radio to break it, saying she needed a distraction. Fugaku just nodded his consent as she fiddled with the dials before the speakers blared to life, a talk show playing.

"_-and so we're here to talk about the scariest things we've seen recently. So, up first, Lou. What's the scariest thing you've seen recently?"_

"_...I'd have to say that the scariest thing I've seen recently was my grandmother naked."_

I snickered along with Sasuke while the radio announcers laughed.

"_What on earth was your grandmother doing naked? Where was this?"_

"_Family reunion. There was a pool and she was changing into her ancient bathing suit. I was trying to find my wayward brother, so I was just opening doors and I stumbled into her change room. I admit, I screamed like a little girl."_

"_Ohohoho! So Lou has a girly scream after all, eh?"_

"_I'm sure if you saw my grandmother naked, you'd scream like a girl too, Erin."_

"_Maybe, maybe. Okay, next, Aya?"_

"_Oh definitely watching my three year old son fall into a garbage disposal unit."_

"_Oh God, how did that happen? Is he alright?"_

"_Thankfully yes. The thing was broken, and my husband had just removed the blades when Teuchi fell in. I hadn't known, though, so of course I went absolutely ballistic thinking he was going to be shredded into pieces. I swear my heart stopped."_

"_That would be horrible indeed. A scare for any parent."_

"Hn. No kidding." Fugaku grunted, glancing at us in the backseat. Sasuke and I hummed in question and Fugaku glanced at us before returning his eyes to the road. "We were at the zoo once when Itachi was five, and he got away from us and climbed into the baby lion exhibit. We both nearly had a heart attack, but thankfully one of the staff was in the cage at the time, feeding them, so she carried Itachi out before any harm could be done."

I turned to send an incredulous look to the blinking raven beside me. "What kind of psycho child climbs into the lion exhibit?" I asked.

Itachi shrugged. "I'm sure they would've fallen under my fierce glare of intimidation."

"Itachi, when you were five, you carried your pastel pink blanky with you everywhere. I highly doubt you could intimidate a few lions."

Laughter erupted in the back seat as Sasuke and I clung onto each other, tears pooling in our eyes as we howled in amusement while Itachi scowled and crossed his arms, huffing and looking as embarrassed as a devil could.

"I resent that, father."

"I'm sure you do."

Oh feel the love.

"_Okay, what about you Rimato?"_

"_Uh, when I saw a chef and a cashier in a cafe get into a fight. I don't know what started it, but they really went for each other's throats. The chef even pulled out a rolling pin and the cashier was holding a meat tenderiser."_

"_Whoa, seriously? What happened after that?"_

"_Another member of staff, a twin of the chef I'm guessing since he looked almost exactly the same came in and separated them. But they'd really had a go at each other. I think they both had to go to the hospital after it. But the strangest thing was that I could've sworn I heard one of them say something about the other 'stealing their Icha Icha Yaoi Paradise' book."_

Sasuke and I shared a bemused look before he smirked.

"Three guesses which cafe that was."

"_Which cafe was this?"_

"_Some small place...it had a number in its name, I believe. I can't remember exactly though."_

"Teme, guesses aren't needed."

We laughed softly as the car pulled up outside the courthouse and I held Sasuke's hand tightly in my own as I saw a group of people in suits. Itachi also noticed them and grunted.

"Looks like Orochimaru is making an appearance today," he said slowly, his eyes narrowing on the tallest man in the group.

I looked over, feeling a shudder race down my spine at the man's appearance. Long, greasy looking black hair, pale skin, and...Were those yellow eyes?

What the hell?

"Who's that...wait...Orochimaru?" I asked, squinting. "Isn't he...Isn't he Kabuto's guardian?"

Fugaku nodded as he climbed out the car and opened the door for me and Sasuke, letting us climb out. "Yes. He's also a rich snob who hired a ruthless lawyer to get Kabuto off the case...but our lawyer is a bit ruthless himself."

I smiled, nodding. I'd only met with the lawyer representing me once since Fugaku had really taken over everything and let me live on with minimum involvement. I really owed him.

We all walked towards the courthouse and our lawyer was waiting for us, his dark red hair swaying in a slight breeze.

"Hello again, Naruto-kun." He greeted, gripping my hand firmly. I smiled, returning the handshake.

"Hello, Nagato-san."

Nagato nodded and led us all to the court room, indicating which seats we should take. "It's all pretty straight forward from here on out. The jury has been in discussion for a while, but they're finally ready to make the verdict. We've got a strong case, not even Orochimaru's lawyers could come up with something solid. There's no need to worry."

Sasuke and I shared a relieved look as we headed to our seats. I sat in between Fugaku and Nagato, while Sasuke, Mikoto and Itachi sat behind us.

Slowly, people filed into the room, and I tried not to look at the other side of the room where Kabuto and Orochimaru were seated. So far, I'd managed but then a sound made me look up and I locked eyes with Kabuto.

He was staring right at me, a smirk on his face. I swallowed and glared back, not willing to let him intimidate me again. He shrugged, before turning back to the front.

Damn him.

Finally, the courtroom was ready, and the judge, an imposing woman named Shion, looked over the room.

"Is the jury ready?" she asked. One member of the jury stood up, her burning red hair pinned up with two pins.

"Yes, your honour." She said, her voice gruff.

I frowned, looking at the jury members. They didn't seem like the type of people I'd see on the jury stand. Aside from the woman, there were two men with silver hair hanging around their faces, which seemed almost identical. Twins perhaps? Then there was a rather large man with orange-red hair growing in tufts, his beady eyes seeming to focus on our side of the room. Then there was a tanned guy with his black hair tied back in a tuft-like pony tail.

Finally, the last guy had long silvery hair tied at the bottom with a red ribbon. He was wearing a dull grey suit, and his eyes looked ahead, blank and calm.

He looked rather...bony to me.

"That's odd..." Nagato said beside me, his brows furrowing as he stared at the jury, "...Those are new jury members..."

Fugaku shifted, his eyes narrowing as he observed them, and I felt something in my chest clench horribly.

"We, the members of the jury—"

I glanced towards Kabuto's side again, and caught the superior smirk on his face as he looked towards his guardian. Glancing at him, I saw Orochimaru return the look with a nod and a smirk.

What the hell?

"-for the charges of sexual assault and battery,"

This was it, time for the big reveal. The final verdict.

"We find the defendant..."

Silence reigned but for the loud thudding of my heart as the final verdict was finally, _finally_ spoken...

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I disliked being in courtrooms. They were so formal and intimidating-to others anyway- it grew annoying to be stuck in them for even a few minutes, let alone a few hours.

I rolled my neck, and leant back as the jury members started speaking. Honestly, like Nagato had said, our case was solid. There was no point to really be here in the end, since we all knew the verdict. Kabuto was as good as gone.

I heard Nagato murmer something up ahead, and saw father shift in his seat. Raising an eyebrow at the action, I crossed my arms and straightened my back as the final verdict approached.

God, just hurry up, declare him guilty, and let us leave. I've got more important things to do than sit and listen to something I already know.

Things like planning Naruto's and my first time together. I wanted it to be perfect for the both of us, and to do that I needed to do some serious research and planning. Where could I get the right things, though? Well...perhaps I can ask—

"We find the defendant..."

Oh good, it's almost over. Finally this whole thing will be put behind—

"Not guilty."

...

As if a vortex had opened up and sucked away all colour, everything seemed to turn grey and slow down.

I heard the thudding of my own arms falling to my lap, the soft gasp from my mother as she reached a hand to her mouth on horror, the faint sound of material straining as Itachi tensed beside me.

But loudest of all, I heard the exhale of air from the body sitting in front of me.

"Oh God..."

Naruto's voice was barely there, so weak, so shocked, so horrified.

The words 'not guilty' echoed in my head over and over, each time getting louder, sharper, harsher until...

"THE _FUCK_ DO YOU MEAN 'NOT GUILTY?'"

"Sasuke!"

Hands were grabbing my shoulders as I tried to climb over the benches to where the jury members were standing. How dare they? How fucking _dare they_ utter those words? It was rigged, planned, a conspiracy! There was no way in Heaven, Hell or even Limbo that Kabuto managed to weasel his way out of this!

"Sasuke, calm down, you're causing a scene!" someone was hissing.

Did I look like I gave a shit whether I was causing a damn scene? A scene needed to be caused if 'not guilty' was the fucking verdict they came to!

"Sasuke. That's enough."

Father's strong hand was shoving me backwards into Itachi's hold. "Take your brother outside to cool down, Itachi. _Now_."

Itachi didn't hesitate to drag me away, kicking, cursing and snarling all the way, until we were outside the courtroom and on the steps leading up to the large building.

Then Itachi shoved me away.

"It's fucking rigged!" I yelled, waving my arm frantically. Itachi stood nearby, his face cold.

"Sasuke-"

"They were bribed or something! They had to be!"

"Sasuke, w—"

"There's no fucking way Kabuto got off just like that, there's got to be a scam going on—"

"SASUKE! SHUT. UP!"

I blanched, only now really focusing on Itachi as he gripped my shoulders painfully, glaring straight into my eyes.

"I know! I know that it must be rigged. I _get_ it. But by jumping around, screaming curses and accusations, you won't help Naruto's case; you'll just make it harder for us to solve this. Nagato is one of the best, and he's got Yahiko working beside him as well as father. Whatever foul play has been happening, they'll sort it out. But they won't be able to do that with you disgracing everyone's presence in the court by yelling like a _psychotic maniac_!"

By the end of his tirade, Itachi's fingers were digging so harshly into my shoulders I expected the material to start staining red. Slowly, I nodded and Itachi's grip lightened.

He was breathing heavily through his nose, a sign that he was just as wound up as me, only he was hiding it a hell of a lot better. Suddenly, his head dipped down and he sighed, the sound containing frustration and withheld anger.

"Fuck..." he hissed.

I could only agree.

We stood on the porch steps, each lost in our own thoughts as to how this could've happened.

"Orochimaru is a powerful person. Undoubtedly he managed to manipulate the jury, the lawyers...everyone." Itachi speculated, and I clenched my fists in anger.

"I hate him."

Itachi laughed at my statement, the sound bitter. "We all hate him. His own mother hates him, probably."

I nodded vigorously, finding my anger go down to a simmer with every insult towards Orochimaru.

After what felt like forever, the doors opened again and Naruto came out, closely followed by my parents and Nagato. Father and Nagato were talking hurriedly while mother was ushering Naruto down the steps towards us as quickly as possible. Her face was tight, her eyes transformed into a steely grey.

She was angry...very angry.

I jogged halfway up the steps to meet them, and Naruto took my hand immediately, tugging me back down the stairs.

"Naru—"

"Let's just get out of here," he mumbled, his face still a bit pale. I glanced back and saw that _twat_ Kabuto and his guardian slowly walking out, smirking and looking smug. As much as I'd love to wipe those looks off their faces with the help of a stop sign, Naruto's tugging was more urgent than that.

I allowed him to lead me back towards the car, continually sending deadly glares over my shoulder at the cretin in glasses walking far behind us.

Once we were in the car, Naruto leant heavily against my side, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow.

"I thought it was going to be over..." he murmured, and I had to physically stop myself from jumping out the car and showing Naruto how I could make sure it was over. Instead, I wrapped my arm tighter around his shoulders and placed a kiss on his head. Itachi was still standing outside, talking with our parents and Nagato. The red-haired lawyer was sending withering glances to Orochimaru before sending reassuring looks to me and Naruto while talking to my father. I could tell that my mother was aching to go over to the bastards and maybe give them each two new assholes, but was restraining herself.

Something I would have failed to do had Naruto not been right there and needing me to lean on.

After a moment, Itachi climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the door before pulling out the keys. I blinked, looking over to him.

"Itachi?"

"Mother and Father are going to spend some time with Nagato discussing what to do about Orochi-bastard and his satanic screw-up son. We're going to go have lunch somewhere and relax. We're all wound up about this, staying here won't help." And with that said, Itachi started the car and drove us away from the courthouse.

* * *

I sighed as we entered the cafe, Naruto right beside me. The waitress, a familiar girl, led us to our seats, her eyes continuously roaming over Naruto and I and a giggle escaping every now and then. I decided then and there that I hated fan girls, both personal and yaoi.

Itachi sat down first, and Naruto lazily sunk into the seat between me and him. While Itachi glanced over at the menu, Naruto placed his head in his arms and heaved a sigh.

"What happens now?" he asked slowly, gazing at the two of us. I frowned and looked at Itachi.

He sighed heavily, slapping down his menu. "Don't worry so much, Naruto-kun. Kabuto may have weaselled out the first time, but once we prove there was foul play involved in this court case, not only will Kabuto be going down, but Orochimaru will be dragged down too. There's no reason to worry because Nagato, Yahiko and both of my parents are working on this. And as Uchihas and Peins, they will not fail."

I nodded in agreement. It wasn't uncommon knowledge that the Pein lineage was also one of the more powerful families in the city, producing generations of top notch lawyers and prosecutors. The Uchiha's used to be more along the law enforcement side, forming some of the strongest police forces around. However, father had branched out from that and gotten into the business world, making a quick takeover and putting the Uchihas ahead of even the Hyuuga family.

If anyone could take down Orochimaru and his spawn, it would be us and the Peins.

Naruto seemed to think for a moment before brightening ever so slightly. "Yeah, you're right. You damn Uchiha's can do almost anything after all."

I raised an eyebrow. "'_Almost'_?" I asked, frowning. "Exactly what can't we do?"

Naruto snorted. "You mean besides talking about your problems, being civil instead of intimidating and standing up to your own mother?" he grinned at the two of us while Itachi and I grumbled unhappily. "Well aside from that, you also will never reach the same awesomeness that is me. But that can't be helped." He shrugged, before bursting out in laughter at the incredulous looks on our faces, undoubtedly.

Itachi shook his head slowly. "Brat..." he mumbled, but his smirk revealed his amusement. I glanced at the ceiling briefly before punching Naruto lightly on the shoulder and standing up. "I'll go get the orders, what do you guys want?"

"Miso ramen for me!"

"Devilled eggs and ham."

"Why am I not surprised?" I teased, and Itachi threw his menu at me while Naruto laughed again.

Dodging the projectile, I made my way towards the counter, since our waitress seemed to have vanished in a puff of smoke. Not that I really cared.

All those fan girl glances were getting on my nerves.

Making my way towards the front, I let my thoughts wonder. As Itachi had said, it was best not to think about the court issues and instead focus on things I could control. Things like my first time with Naruto. One thing my beloved blond had forgot to mention, Uchiha's don't know everything...at least, I didn't. Especially when it came to the subject of sex for two males. I knew the general idea, sure.

After all, there's only one place for Pole A to go in right?

But as for details; what feels good, how to make sure there's as little pain for both parties as possible, safety details and best ways to avoid unnecessary hazards... All those more specific things I was completely oblivious of.

And it's not like I could go to anyone in my family for help. God forbid my mother catch wind of this whole ordeal before it happens, I don't even want to know what she'd do! Whether she'd fight against it or demand to be in the room at the time, I didn't know, but both were possible...especially the second one.

Oh God.

And my father may be a good dad, but he's definitely not the person to go to with questions on how to successfully sleep with my _boyfriend_. That would be beyond awkward and humiliating.

As for Itachi?

Well...he's _Itachi_.

Enough said.

So I was stuck, wondering how I could find out these small things. The internet seemed like the best option. But then again, how could I be sure that I wasn't looking at a list of disturbing kinks some sickos posted up as their personal list of 'the right ways of gayness' or something?

And so I had to focus on solving this problem...I needed some help though. I needed a miracle.

I needed a sign from heaven!

Reaching the counter, I was about to call for service when I saw it.

A book, lying so innocently behind the counter, a large marker sticking out from one end. The lemon yellow cover and flaming red writing seemed to glow to my eyes, and the gears in my head spun wildly as I processed exactly what the title said.

_Icha Icha Yaoi Paradise: A Guide to Guys on Guys._

My eyes widened as I looked straight ahead.

"There _is_ a God..." I breathed in awe.

"Well glad you've had your religious epiphany and all, but if you're not going to order then please move. Other people would like to eat soon."

I shook my head to snap myself out of my awe and turned to face the cashier. Oh great, the blonde chick was back. She really got under my skin for some reason, but in a really bad way.

"Yeah, an order of Miso ramen, an order of devilled eggs and a chicken and tomato salad."

She nodded, typing it in. "Any drinks?"

"No."

"Right." I placed the money on the counter while she called out another ridiculously weird order, and the chef returned the call with a shout of 'Suck my dick, you thieving cow'. Of course, she disappeared for a few minutes, and I decided to ignore the ominous screams of a dying man in the kitchen.

When she came back, I swallowed and leant closer. "Actually...I have a favour to ask."

She looked at me, crossing her arms and waiting. I took that as my cue to continue.

"I'd really like to...borrow...t-that book," I said softly, hoping to God no one heard me. I pointed a finger at the book briefly, and watched as she looked down at it. Her eyes widened, probably in surprise before she looked up. Her eyes scanned the restaurant until they landed on Naruto and Itachi, who were chatting about something or another. She grinned, leaning on the counter and leering at me.

"Oh ho ho! Somebody's taking the next step eh?" she said, chuckling at my expression. I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Look, will you lend me the book or not?"

"Well...I don't like lending my shit out, since there's always the chance I may never get it back..." she said slowly, before glancing at Naruto again. Her leer widened. "Tell you what...I'll make you a trade."

I stared at her apprehensively. "What kind of trade?"

She shrugged, glancing back at Naruto. "It's nothing much...all you have to do is kiss your boyfriend-and I mean a real kiss with tongue and all- for about a minute, and I'll lend you my Icha Icha. Sound fair?"

I glared at her, but she just smiled smugly. After a long moment, I snarled.

"Fine. Now give me the book." I held out my hand, and received both a tray with our food as well as the lemon yellow book, which I surreptitiously slipped into my jacket pocket.

Nodding at the, in my opinion, evil cashier, I walked back to the table and fulfilled my side of the deal, much to Naruto's embarrassment.

I'm sure the extremely large bump on my head would go away eventually...

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I groaned as I slumped down onto my bed, burying my face into the pillow. Sasuke was in the bathroom, since he refused to leave me on my own today.

Kind of a dumb thing to say considering that he's been locked up in the bathroom for about an _hour_ now. Seriously, what was he doing? Giving birth?

"Hey teme!"

"Hn?"

"...Are you giving birth in there?"

"Dobe."

Okay, guess not.

I rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about everything. The trial with Kabuto had left me feeling a bit lost at first. After all, I'd been so sure that he wouldn't get out of it, but then again, since when was life ever fair for Uzumaki Naruto? I suppose I should have seen this coming, really. My luck sucked. My life had suck-ish qualities even now. Murphy was a PMS-ing son of a cucumber's asshole so of course he too would join in the festivities that were 'Make Naruto's life miserable'.

The gods hated me, I just knew it.

'_Girl I gotta go, I'm finished with the show! But if you wanna –beep- me I won't say no! T-T-T-Touchin' on my-_'

I turned over, grabbing my phone and briefly glancing at the ID before flipping it open and pressing it against my ear.

"Yo."

"Hey Naruto, it's me, Sakura."

"Duh. I do have caller ID."

"Shut up. Anyway, I was just calling to tell you not to worry."

I raised an eyebrow. "Not to worry about what?"

"About Kiba."

Okay..._What_?

"Why would I worry about Kiba? Is he hurt?"

Sakura laughed on her end. "No, no! I meant you don't have to worry about him interrupting you and Sasuke-kun when you guys...you know..._do it_."

Fucking girls and their psychic abilities of girly-intuition!

"W-What makes you think we're going to do that?"

"Oh please, Naruto. I'm not an idiot. I realized Sasuke-kun was thinking of that the moment he started acting all weird. And since he's back to normal, it's obvious that you agreed to do it with him. So, being the most awesome friend I am—"

I snorted.

"-..._Ahem_...Being the most awesome friend I am, I got some help so that Kiba will be otherwise distracted and won't bother you while you're jiggling your man-bits with your boyfriend."

I was very, _very_ tempted to hang up on her after that comment.

But, I had to discover exactly what Sakura had planned, because let's face it...girls never made sane plans. They were always wild, insane, and downright deadly.

They also worked often...sadly...

"Whoa, whoa...what do you mean you 'got some help'? And if you ever say I'm 'jiggling my man-bits' again, I will pull up your skirt during school and show everyone your Rainbow Monkey panties."

Oh yeah, I so went there!

"How the hell do you know I have Rainbow Monkey panties?"

"You shoved my face into your sleep-over bag after I called you 'flat-chest' at the beginning of the year and I saw them. Remember?"

"...Oh right! And as I recall, I also left a nice bruise on your cheek. Do you want a repeat of that?"

Oh her tone was definitely cold, but hey, a man had to do what a man had to do.

"Stay away from the jiggle-y man-bits and I'll stay away from the Rainbow Monkeys."

"Deal."

An agreement has been made, ladies and gentleman. All man-bits and monkeys are safely stored away.

"So anyway, what did you mean by help?"

"Well...I told Hinata that you and Sasuke wanted a night alone, and asked if she would help me keep Kiba distracted. Once she regained consciousness, she agreed to help!"

I pushed my face into my pillow to hide my loud groan. "You told Hinata what we were planning?" I asked indignantly. Sakura laughed cheekily on the other end.

"I didn't go into detail!"

"What detail could you possibly go into?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, I could've told her that Sasuke was planning to slowly, and maybe sensually strip you down, and then push you back to lay on the bed, and then he'd cover you with his body and start to trail his hands towards your—"

"I find it incredibly disturbing that you seem to know more about our first time than either of us do," I deadpanned quickly, and Sakura laughed again.

"Either way, I'm just telling you that whenever you guys are ready, just give me the word and Hinata and I will make sure Kiba doesn't interrupt!" She declared and I couldn't help but smile.

She was only trying to help, after all. Sure, it was creepy and slightly disturbing that she thought ahead with all of this but, in some weird, freaky, O-m-g-w-t-f kind of way, it was sweet.

"Uh, thanks Sakura-chan. I'll remember that. Thanks for calling."

"No problem. See you at school!"

"See you."

I hung up after she did, and placed my phone back down. Glancing at the time, I huffed and stood, trudging over to the bathroom door and knocking loudly.

"Seriously what are you doing in there? I need to take a piss now!" I yelled through the wood, resting my head against it. I heard some muffled cursing and shuffling until finally the lock clicked and Sasuke came out. I glanced at his face, raising an eyebrow at the slight blush on his cheeks.

"...Were you jacking off?" I asked seriously.

"No!" Sasuke said, glaring. "I was...reading..." he mumbled the last word and my eyebrow went higher.

"Seriously? You were 'reading'?" I asked sceptically. Sasuke huffed, pushing past.

"Go take a piss, you get cranky when you don't," he teased, walking to sit on the bed. I glared at him.

"Oh I get cranky? Says the guy who throws a bitch fit if he doesn't get the last tomato."

I ducked into the bathroom and locked the door before Sasuke could lodge his impressively large shoes up my backside.

* * *

**Dun dun duuuuun!...oh wait, wrong setting. O_o**

**XD Anyway, how did you like it? The court thing won't last very long. At all. Trust me. And as for their first time...it's coming!**

**Kao: LOL! 'It's coming(cumming)' ...get it? GET IT?**

**Me: Calm down, yes, they get it. **

**Kao: What? I thought it was funny! D:**

**Me: You think watching kids cry is funny too.**

**Kao: Because it is! Their faces get all scrunchy and red! It's hilarious!**

**Me: ...=_=**

**Kao: ...Stop looking at me like that...**

**PREVIEW**

_Fugaku and Mikoto work hard with Nagato and Yahiko to sort out the court case, while Naruto hangs back and waits for it all to pan out. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Kiba decide to pay a visit to a certain four-eyed menace when no one is watching. Finally, Sasuke feels he has everything ready, now all he has to do is wait for Naruto to give the go ahead. What will happen next?_

**~This story is sponsored by your reviews!~**


	37. Chapter 37

**DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAAAAMMMMIIIT! *points to readers* It's all your fault!**

**Kao: Oh please, you can't blame them! It was your doing!**

**Me: But I said I wouldn't! I SAID I WOULDN'T! And they *points at readers again* kept asking about it, and hinting for it, and begging for it, but I said to myself, 'I will not be swayed, I will not be swayed'**

**Kao: YOU SO FUCKING SWAYED! :D You swayed so bad! Your mother knows how bad you swayed!**

**Me: GAH! *turns to confused readers* ALRIGHT LISTEN UP YOU GUYS! ...er...GIRLS, since it was most likely your doing! ALL YOUR DOING! ...anyway, as I said before, there is NO LEMONS in this story...BUT! *grumpy face* since there were so many people who really, really wanted one...I wrote one and posted it on my Live Journal account...so it's the missing lemon for this chapter. The link will be at the bottom, so that you can read it if you choose to. This way, my straight-guy/ non-yaoi fan readers don't have to cringe, gasp and gouge their eyes out while reading. ARE YOU HAPPY? ARE YOU? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE I COULD GET INTO FOR THIS?**

**Kao: YEAH! so pay for her kindess with lots and lots of REVIEWS! :D**

**Me: YEAH! WHAT HE SAID! B[**

**XD lol. Yes, I swayed...damn you people...anyway, don't expect another show of kindness again. oh, and the lemon is for a LIMITED TIME ONLY! I will take it down after a couple of days...if you weren't able to read it, you'll have to send me a PM and I MIGHT email it to you, if you're lucky. |D**

**Warnings: Violence, mild yaoi towards the end, language, and a humorous Extra.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own. And the Lemonade Stand is a rental. XD**

**Online!  
**

* * *

I sighed loudly as Kiba continued to rant and rave about the injustice of the world beside me. It was around eight in the evening and Sasuke, Kiba and I were playing online once again, exploring the world with some of our friends including Shikamaru and Sakura. Hinata was going to join as soon as she got away from family dinner time.

I'd ended up telling Kiba about the court case, and he went ballistic, practically foaming at the mouth as he ranted about how he was going to kill them all. He'd even blabbed the entire thing to our friends online, and now they were all joining in on his 'righteous anger'.

Sakura had called immediately, demanding the details and then writing out on the team chat about exactly what she wanted to do to Kabuto, without mentioning any of our names, of course.

Surprisingly, BeautySoul had whole heartedly agreed with her tirade and began urging us to tell her where the 'prick-face who had the gall to hurt her boy buddy' lived so she could personally pay him a visit and teach him a painful lesson.

I didn't like the looks Sasuke and Kiba got on their faces after that comment, and quickly tried to salvage the situation by saying that it was all alright because my lawyer and powerful friends were going to take care of it.

BubunBaika seemed to be more understanding to my side, and simply said he hoped they solved the issue soon and that I shouldn't fret and just enjoy ramen and stay happy.

I decided that BubunBaika must be a very wise old man with a long white beard and knobby knuckles.

Mantis001 had just said something about 'He will be punished. Why? Because he has done wrong, and it will always come back to him.'

I figured he was probably somewhere in China, working in one of this riddle shops that made those impossible to solve puzzles that were filled with round-a-bout advice that was really wise but only made sense after the shit had fallen through.

Shikamaru had just told that Kabuto-whom we were all referring to as the 'Prick-faced turkey buzzard'- would get what he deserved and I would be fine.

Sasuke seemed a bit annoyed at the almost insincere sentence until I received a text right after that from Shikamaru saying that if I needed to talk, he was a good listener, pretty smart, and lived close to a ramen stand, and he wouldn't find it troublesome to offer some advice if I wanted.

That one made me smile.

We continued to play for hours after that, exploring some new areas that had been opened up, and getting a lot of cool new items. When one rolled around, I yawned and decided it was time for me to hit the sack. I logged off, ignoring the cries of protest from Kiba and Sasuke as they were still awake and wanted to keep playing.

"You guys go ahead, don't let me stop you. I'm just bushed, today was tiring. I'll see you in the morning."

They nodded as I retreated to the bathroom to get changed before climbing into bed and turning away from them so they couldn't see the nervous frown I was sporting.

I didn't want them to worry.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

Five minutes later, I looked over at where Naruto was sleeping, and carefully put my character somewhere safe before creeping over to him. Kiba was right there, so I couldn't do much without risking a hockey stick getting shoved up my ass. Instead I just brushed some hair out of his face while his breathing turned to light snores. Smiling, I leant down and placed a soft kiss against his temple.

"Night, dobe," I murmured softly, stroking his cheek. He turned into my touch and I smiled again.

Kiba made an annoyed huff behind me. "Seriously, I'm glad you guys like each other and all, but I'm still not happy with all the PDA's."

"We're at home. It's just the three of us here. How is that a PDA?" I asked, my hand still stroking.

Kiba frowned. "Okay, so it's more an IFKDA."

I raised an eyebrow. "IFKDA?"

"In Front of Kiba Display of Affection," he clarified, eyes still glued to his screen. He'd actually bothered to move his entire computer system to Naruto's so he could play it with the blond in sight. I had strong suspicions it was because I was staying over the night and Kiba wanted to make sure I didn't do anything inappropriate.

Damn mutt.

Naruto had told me about Sakura offering to keep Kiba off our backs when we decided to take the big step, and I truly hoped she would follow through. It would really ruin things if Kiba were to burst in with a chainsaw while we were halfway through. I might end up pissing myself in fear-because I am man enough to admit Kiba is fucking scary sometimes- and, well...if I'm inside Naruto when that happens...

Let's not think of that, shall we?

Shaking my head at Kiba's antics, I moved back to my seat with one last caress of Naruto's cheek. Sitting down, I started to play again, Kiba and I heading towards one of the larger dungeons with Shikamaru and Mantis001. Hinata, Sakura and BeautySoul had headed off to bed a bit earlier and BubunBaika had gone to get a snack...half an hour ago. We guessed his midnight snack had turned into a midnight feast. He admitted to being a lover of eating.

Suddenly, Kiba sucked in a breath and leant back slightly, still staring intently at his screen. "Oi, Sasuke..." he called a bit distractedly.

"Hn?" I didn't bother looking over at him, too busy fighting off a bunch of monsters that were starting to get annoying.

"...Remember what BeautySoul said?"

I growled, choosing a more powerful attack before glancing at Kiba. "Hn. Why?"

Kiba stuck his tongue out in concentration as he helped to rid me of the annoying pests that were attacking me. "Well, I was thinking about it, and I realized she might have a point."

I barely scoffed, focusing on the game and the items I was picking up. "Of course she has a point. Anyone who suggests Kabu-dickhead should get his ass thrown under a meat grinder has a fucking. Point!" I snarled the last one when another monster spawned right next to me, attacking me as I was picking something up. Dammit, that first hit had taken a lot of health!

Kiba quickly came to my aid, setting his character to attack. "That's just it!" he said, looking at me. "Yes, they do, but the problem is, no one has bothered to get that point across to the scuzz-guzzling dick-weed." Kiba slammed his palm into his fist while I turned to raise an eyebrow at his choice of insults.

" 'Scuzz-guzzling'?" I inquired, smirking at his slightly mortified face.

"Hey, it was the first thing that came to me. Besides, it suits the thing."

I found it highly satisfying how everyone around me also didn't refer to Kabuto as though he was actually human.

"Hn. Either way, what exactly are you trying to say? That one of us should go to Kabuto's place and kick his ass?"

"Exactly! Ha, you really are smart after all!" Kiba said excitedly. I kicked him for that, but he ignored it.

"Idiot, first off, do you even have any clue as to where that thing's dark and smelly cave of a home even is?" I asked, and judging by the sudden fall of Kiba's face, it was obvious he didn't. "Not only that, but if we go round there and beat him, there are two serious downsides to it."

Kiba tilted his head. "What could possibly be a downside to this suggestion?" he questioned incredulously.

"For one, if we beat him up and he tells his lawyer and father, it'll make it that much harder for my parents and Naruto's lawyers to sort out the whole mess since they'll have ammo to use against the Uchiha name. And second, I don't know if I could stop myself from killing that fucker, and as gratifying and probably merciful to the human race as that would be, I'd still be a murderer and I don't want to be that. And neither would you. Naruto would never let us do it anyway."

Kiba chewed his thumb thoughtfully, taking in everything I said. Suddenly, he perked up. "But, if Kabuto doesn't recognize us...Then he won't be able to call out your parents since he won't know they were involved."

I turned to him again, slightly curious. "And how exactly will he not recognize us?"

"You've seen the news right? There's been a bunch of muggings around town lately, and witnesses say that the guys who do it are wearing masks. If we wear the same masks and get Kabuto while he's on his way home from the store or something, we can beat him to a pulp and get away with it."

I thought about it, figuring it could work, but... "That won't teach him not to mess with Naruto, though."

Kiba shook his head. "Maybe not directly, but it will be something he deserves!" he insisted.

I sighed, tapping a few keys on my keyboard. "Kiba, even if we did plan this out and get the masks and all of that, we still don't know where he lives, so the plan goes down the drain anyway."

Kiba sighed, huffing. "Alright, alright," he grumbled.

"Oi, it's not that I wouldn't love to rip his dick off and shove it down his throat, but unless we have every element in place to ensure we don't get any bad repercussions, it's too risky at this stage," I reassured.

Kiba sighed again. "Okay, I get it. I guess you're right."

"Hn. Of course I am."

"Shut up, prick."

"Hn." I smirked. "By the way Kiba..."

"Yeah?"

"You're character's getting attacked and I'm already in the next area."

"Shit!"

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

'_You spin my head right round, right round, when you go down, when you go down, down-_'

I groaned, rolling over to try and grab my phone and put a stop to the music pulling me and my guests from sleep.

Sasuke was growling slightly beside me, since he was sharing my bed. A black eye peeked up at me from the covers. "Tell whoever it is I'm going to tear their intestines out through their ass," he grumbled sleepily.

Kiba snorted from the floor, curling up even more under his blankets.

I yawned, finally grabbing the phone and pressing it to my ear.

" N'ello?"

"Hello, Naruto-kun. It's Mikoto!"

I smirked. "Oh hi Mikoto. Sasuke here says-"

"Dobe!" Sasuke's voice was the pinnacle of panic.

"-'good morning mom' and he loves you," I finished, grinning when Mikoto awed over the phone and Sasuke slumped down with relief.

"That's so sweet. Tell him I love him lots and lots too!"

I pressed the phone to my chest and turned to him. "She loves you lots times two and with a baby voice added."

His face went red as Kiba started guffawing on the floor, and he retreated back under the blankets, glaring up at me as he went. I snickered and pulled the phone up.

"He's gone back into hiding now."

"Aw, he's so cute sometimes."

"Yes, yes he is." I yelped loudly when Sasuke bit my side, and lifted the covers to glare at him. He glared back, his face still a darker shade than the usual pale. Scoffing, I pulled the blanket back down, hoping he'd pass out from lack of oxygen.

Mikoto was giggling on her side of the phone, undoubtedly guessing what could have transpired.

"Anyway, Naruto-kun, I was just calling to say that Nagato and Yahiko are working on getting everything sorted out. But, in order to do so, they need some help. I believe that you are close to Tsunade and Jiraiya?"

I sat up a bit more, leaning on my elbow. "Yes, that's right. Why, what do they have to do with this?"

"Well, they used to be very close to Orochimaru in the old days. If anyone could help to crack what he did to sway the judge and jury, it would be the two of them."

I nodded to myself. "Alright, what should I do?"

"Could you maybe get them to meet us all for lunch today, if they're free? And also, you may need to come along too."

I sighed, but nodded again. "Yeah, I can do that. I know that they don't have any plans today, since they usually take today off. I'll give them a call and arrange something, and then I'll call you back. Is that fine?"

"Yes, that's marvellous. I'll be waiting."

"Right. Thanks, Mikoto."

"No problem, Naruto-chan."

I blinked, mouthing the word 'chan' to myself in confusion even as the phone hung up on her end.

Placing my phone to the side, I sighed. "I have to go," I mumbled, moving to climb out of bed since I had to look up Tsunade's recent number. She had to keep changing it to avoid old friends calling for her to repay debts. Stupid gambler habits.

"Nooo!"

I cried out as Sasuke wrapped his arms around my legs as I was climbing out, trying to pull me back under the covers. The result was my top half falling off the bed and landing on a slumbering Kiba, who snorted awake and started flail around in surprise.

"What the hell?"

"Ouch, Kiba!"

"Dobe!"

The struggle that pursued then was huge. Kiba kept trying to shove me off, but I was too far over the bed to stay up, so I kept falling down again. Sasuke was still holding onto my legs, trying to drag me back. The result was my torso continuously bobbing up and down, stopping close to Kiba's stomach every time I dipped while Sasuke kept pulling my hips and legs back, grunting since I kept sliding forward again and again.

Eventually, I fell straight onto Kiba's stomach, and I bit him for all the shoves he'd given that hurt. Kiba yelped loudly, grabbing my head and snarling while Sasuke leant over, intent on grabbing my shoulder.

"Naruto, are you awake? I hope you don't mind I let myself...in..."

We all froze, eyes moving up to see Iruka frozen in my entry way, staring at us in horror. I realized that, from his angle, things looked really, _really_ bad. After all, Sasuke was leaning over me, his crotch pressed to my ass and from his view, my face wasn't at Kiba's stomach...it could be lower. And Kiba had his hands in my hair.

Oh crap...

"WHAT THE _HELL_ IS GOING ON IN HERE?.!"

I hate my life.

...

It had taken over ten minutes to explain enough to Iruka so that he understood enough to stop trying to throttle Sasuke and Kiba at once. Judging by the way the two of them huddled in a corner, almost hugging and trembling with fear as Iruka glowered at them while I explained exactly what was going on, I knew that they had seen enough of Iruka's anger to be scarred for life.

Finally, when I had convinced Iruka that I was _not_ getting raped by my two friends, he made us all a nice breakfast. Sasuke and Kiba had taken about five minutes to start eating, since they kept daring each other to take a bite first and check for poison.

"...You eat first."

"Hn. You eat first."

"...No, you can eat first."

"...You eat first. It's fine."

"No, no, really, you can eat first. I'm not very hungry anyway."

"...I'm not hungry at all."

Finally, exasperated, I'd taken a bite of both their meals to show them it was safe.

Of course, seeing the utter relief on their faces, I just couldn't resist pretending to choke and foam at the mouth before stilling, slumped over the table.

The looks of sheer horror and panic on their faces were enough to send me into hysterics for the duration of breakfast.

After a nice meal, Iruka had just asked me the usual questions, such as how was I doing, did I need anything, and I was always welcome to visit him, and so on. I was glad that he dropped by, since it had been a while since I last saw him. Assuring him all was fine, he'd left for work, but not before sending a very dangerous look to both Kiba and Sasuke, who flinched violently.

Once he was gone, Sasuke had glared at me.

"Dobe, why the hell do all your friends want to protect your damn innocence so much?" he snapped.

Kiba had swatted him over the head for that, but I noticed how he seemed a lot more lenient with Sasuke after that. After all, he didn't even blink when Sasuke started giving me a hickey while I was calling Tsunade.

Obviously, being under the harsh scrutiny of another Virginity-Protector, he'd realized some of Sasuke's pain and terror.

Mikoto arrived to pick me up at ten, since we were meeting Tsunade and Jiraiya at a nice restaurant at half past. It looked like Sasuke was about to come with when Kiba suddenly wrapped an arm around his shoulder, restraining him.

"Naruto, you go ahead and do what you need to do! Sasuke and I actually have something to take care of today! We'll be right here when you get back though!" Kiba waved cheerfully as I stared at the two of them questionably. Sasuke seemed to be struggling fiercely, but I shrugged. It may be good for the two of them to spend some time together. Maybe they'd warm up to each other?

...

Hey, I'm allowed to hope right?

We drove off after waving goodbye and arrived at the restaurant in due time. Fugaku, Nagato and Yahiko were already waiting outside for us.

"Naruto-kun, glad you could come," Nagato said, smiling and shaking my hand. I nodded, and returned the gesture. Yahiko nodded, a smile on his face.

"Don't worry, Naruto! We'll sort out this mess and give that low-life punk what he deserves," he assured. Nagato cleared his throat, giving him a look.

"Yahiko, it's not professional to call the opposition a 'low-life punk'," he chided. Yahiko offered a single shoulder shrug.

"It may not be professional, but it is the truth. Besides, these aren't our working hours anyway, so I can be as unprofessional as I want to be."

Almost as if to prove a point, Yahiko slowly raised a finger to his nose, looking ready to pick it had Nagato not grabbed his hand and practically ripped it away with a growl while I laughed into my hand.

"Knock it off!"

"Aw, come on Naga-chan! Relax! You'll only make Naruto uncomfortable if you're all stiff and formal all the time," Yahiko said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling a sad face. He mock-secretly nudged me and stage whispered "Quick, look uncomfortable!" to which I struggled to keep my face straight at all, let alone make it uncomfortable.

Mikoto was chuckling behind her fingers while Fugaku just smirked. Nagato heaved a sigh, placing a hand over his eyes.

"Why do I put up with him?" he asked no one in particular.

"Because he is _incredibly_ handsome, has an _awesome_ sense of humour, is one _kick-butt lawyer_, oh, _and_ he is your brother!" Yahiko replied, pounding his chest each time he referred to himself in third person. I couldn't hold in my laughter at the scandalized look on Nagato's face.

"Oi, brat! What's so funny?"

We turned to see Jiraiya clopping his way over, wearing the ridiculous wooden sandals he was so fond of and waving his hand. Tsunade was walking along behind him, her hands folded into her jacket arms and her face serious.

I grinned, waving back as Jiraiya reached us an pulled me into a one armed hug.

"Good to see you kid," he greeted, ruffling my hair. I nodded.

"You too, you old pervert," I smirked while Jiraiya squawked indignantly.

"Brat!"

Fugaku cleared his throat, and we all turned to him. He waved his hand towards the restaurant doors.

"Shall we? We have much to discuss."

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

"Remind me why I shouldn't just kill you now?" I grumbled.

Kiba hushed me, waving his hand. "Just shut up will you!"

"Kiba, why the hell are we here?"

"I just remembered something last night, okay?"

So much for a detailed response...

Sighing, I leant against the brick wall of the building I was crouching next to. We were currently sitting in an alleyway, half hidden by a dumpster. We were both wearing a pair of old T-shirts and jeans that Kiba had found in his closet, and on top of that, a pair of blank-face white masks were resting atop our heads.

"Seriously, Kiba...Tell me what's going on before I kick your ass and shove you into this damn dumpster," I warned. I was still pissed off that he'd stopped me from going to the lunch with Naruto and my parents.

Kiba groaned loudly, turning to offer me a glare. "Geez, I just remembered that I often saw Kabuto in a store near hear when I lived in my old house and had to travel home. He always used to come here, so there's a chance we'll catch him here!"

I gaped. "You mean that's why you got these masks? So we could rough him up? That's what your plans for today were?"

"Oh shut it, Uchiha. You're looking forward to beating that fucker again, and God knows I'm itching for my turn too!" Kiba growled, turning to look over the dumpster again.

I sighed loudly, slapping a hand to my forehead in aggravation. "Dammit, Kiba! True as that may be, the chances of us actually running into Kabuto today of all days is like a million to one!"

Suddenly, an all too familiar voice echoed alongside footsteps passing the alley.

"Thanks for the discount, Otonashi-san!"

"No problem, Kabuto-kun! Be sure to come back again soon!"

"I will!"

Kiba's grin was maniacal as I shifted to peek over the dumpster, and he turned the grin to me, canines poking out of his lips.

"Then I guess I'm the lucky number fucking one!" he whispered before pulling his mask down. "Come on, Uchiha! I'm doing this, with or without you. You're either in, or out!"

I swallowed, trying to weigh all the pros and cons in a second, but then I saw Kabuto's face. Even now, he held that damn smug aura about him as he walked through the backstreets.

The decision, I realized, had been made the moment he was declared 'not guilty'.

I pulled down the mask, and that was answer enough for Kiba. He tapped my shoulder and the two of us began to creep behind Kabuto, tailing him as he made his way home.

He entered one of the alleyways known as a shortcut for many students, and Kiba tapped my shoulder again.

It was our best chance.

Kiba took the lead, running up behind Kabuto and wrapping an arm around his neck.

"Don't move, asshole!" he hissed, and Kabuto grunted, the bag falling from his hands. "Get the shit," Kiba ordered, and I quickly moved to take the bag and dig harshly into Kabuto's pockets. After all, we had to pretend we were muggers even though we had no interest in his crap.

When I'd emptied his pockets and stepped back, Kabuto was glaring at me.

"There, you've got my things, now get the fuck off me," he spat.

I glared back, but only a hint of my eyes could be seen through the mask I wore. Turning to look at Kiba, I saw the anger flashing in the sliver of brown I could see of his eye. He gave an almost imperceptible nod, and I returned it.

The arm around Kabuto's neck retreated, and just as he was relaxing Kiba grabbed him and held his arms apart by the armpits, trapping him. Before Kabuto could truly question, I was swinging my fist and landing a solid punch in his gut. He coughed, and I aimed another and another.

Every time my fist made contact with his stomach, it was like a wave of satisfaction coursed through me. Finally, _finally_, he was getting something he deserved. While it may not be done openly in Naruto's name, every hit was dedicated to the pain Kabuto had caused him. To the pain everyone had caused him. For every moment Naruto had suffered in his life, Kabuto was going to pay for it.

Even if he hadn't been the cause of it all, he was the perfect candidate for taking the blows.

I don't know when I started to growl with every hit, and I don't even recall when Kabuto started to spit some blood from biting his tongue. The white mask on my face would undoubtedly be speckled red by the time we were finished.

I caught Kiba's eye, and knew he was itching for his turn. I slammed my fist into Kabuto's stomach one last time, hearing the choked cry he gave in response before I pulled him out of Kiba's grip and spun him around, trapping him the same way Kiba had.

He wasted no time in punching Kabuto clear across the face. Back and forth, like a machine, his fists were snapping against Kabuto's cheeks and jaw. His glasses went flying after the fourth punch, clattering to the pavement somewhere far off.

I grunted when Kiba suddenly used his knee and rammed it into Kabuto's chest, making me step back at the force. But the sound of pain that slipped from Kabuto's mouth was enough to bring a cruel smirk to my face.

Thank God Naruto wasn't here. The monsters hidden inside of Kiba and I, the horrendous, murderous beasts that had been clawing to escape the moment Kabuto had stepped out of line, were free at last and there was no one to stop them from wreaking havoc on their fitting victim.

Together, we threw Kabuto to the ground. I climbed on top of him, grabbing his collar and yanking his head up to glare at him through the mask.

"Fuck heads like you should learn your Goddamn place!" I spat before slamming his head against the ground and pulling him back up. "And you should learn when to give yourself up and take your rightful punishment."

"You...crazy!" Kabuto coughed, and behind me, Kiba gave a sinister laugh, kneeling down. Kabuto's unfocused eyes trailed over towards him, squinting as he tried to see clearly.

"Maybe we are...but I can tell that you deserve this and so much more!" And Kiba's fist bypassed my face to crash into Kabuto's nose. The crunch was so loud, I almost winced at the mental image of the bone splintering. Kabuto yelled out in pain, hands coming up to try and push me off.

I pulled back, but only enough to stomp my foot onto his chest, chuckling coldly when he jerked like he'd been shocked.

"I have to agree with my friend here...You look like you deserve this. And you most likely do."

Kabuto still manage to glare. "And you fuckers don't? You go around, mugging innocent people and beating them up?"

Here Kiba and I shared a glance, grinning behind our masks. "Maybe. But we're not talking about us."

Kabuto cringed as we started to walk towards him. Kiba cracked his knuckles again, and I was clenching my fists as I put a foot atop Kabuto's chest again and glared down at him.

"Don't struggle...It'll be over soon enough."

* * *

We had run the entire four blocks back to Naruto's apartment, right after we dumped Kabuto's belongings into a dumpster at the second block. We'd lifted the masks, but not quite taken them off completely yet, and our shirts were weighing down on our limbs as we ran, our breathing harsh.

Finally, when we reached the bottom of the stairs we paused to catch our breath.

I was doubled over, my hands clenching around my knees while Kiba slid to his ass at the foot of the stairs, eyes closed as he relived the moment over and over.

Shakily, I lifted up my hand and pulled at my mask. When I turned it to face me, it was indeed splashed with drops of blood. Nothing to suggest murder or anything that severe, but there was definitely blood spilled. I found it ironic that a droplet had trailed down from one of the eyeholes, giving the mask the appearance of crying blood.

"That...felt good," Kiba sighed, pulling his own mask off and looking at it. "I feel like justice has finally been served."

I nodded, the same feeling filling me. I glanced around, glad to see no one was looking at us before turning to Kiba.

"We have to get rid of these though..." I held up the blood-stained mask. He nodded and pulled himself to his feet, looking around.

"There."

We moved to a small metal trashcan that was hidden in shadow near the back wall of the building. We held the masks up, and Kiba pulled a lighter from one of his back pockets. Carefully, he set the plastic masks alight before tossing them into the metal bin and stepping back. We waited until the masks had completely burned to a crisp before making our way back up the stairs.

When we reached Naruto's floor, Kiba paused outside his apartment floor and turned to me.

"Hey Sasuke..."

"Hn?"

Kiba grinned, holding out his fist. "Looks like we can be friends, as long as we have a common interest."

I stared at the offered limb before smirking and reaching my own fist out, bumping it lightly against his.

"Hn. That common interest being Naruto's wellbeing, correct?"

"Damn right."

I chuckled, and he laughed before we said a short goodbye-he tried to hug me and I punched his arm- and he disappeared into his apartment.

I took a deep breath, still feeling the excitement from giving Kabuto what he deserved coursing through my system.

I opened the door to Naruto's apartment, noticing the lights were on. Naruto must be back already.

"Hey Naruto!" I called, walking into the room. I wasn't able to say anything else since he was in front of me in a flash, his hands gripping into my hair while his mouth glued itself to mine. Surprised at the bold action, I stumbled back, hitting the wall as he continued to assault my tonsils.

Soon, however, I got into the kiss, wrapping my arm around his waist and squeezing one of my hands into his hair, tugging. After a kiss that practically sent me to the moon and back three times, he pulled away.

"Not that I mind, but what's with you?" I asked, struggling to regain the breath he'd stolen. I felt his grin against my lips as he continued to give me small, short kisses.

"Kabuto's going down...We discovered that the jury that was in court that day were all old students of Orochimaru, and they all worshipped the weirdo. Nagato and Yahiko are going to talk to the judge and the police...both of those jerk-offs are going down for good!" And then he was pressing against me again, his hands dipping under my shirt.

I grinned, grabbing his hips and spinning us around so that he was pressed against the wall. I looked down into his darkened blue eyes, loving the look on his face.

"That's wonderful...and I've got some reasonably good news too..." I leant down, licking at his ear and relishing in the tremble. "Kiba and I have finally found something we agree upon totally...so it looks like we've finally made some sort of friendship that doesn't involve chainsaws and stone fortresses."

Naruto grinned, wrapping his arms around my neck. "Today's just been a great day for everyone then, hasn't it?" he said lowly, nibbling on my lip.

I swear I didn't moan. I promise you, I never made a-...oh fuck it, I was groaning like a sexy rocking chair.

"This calls for a celebration, don't you think?" I murmured, pressing closer and forcing a leg between his. I blinked in surprise at what I found there and when Naruto chuckled, I leant back slightly shocked.

"I've already called Sakura-chan...her and Hinata arrived a while ago and they're at Kiba's now, keeping him busy," he whispered.

H.O.L.Y S.H.I.T!

"You mean...You're ready?" I asked, hardly daring to believe it. Naruto nodded vigorously, and I wasted no time attaching myself to his neck. He moaned while I worked to give him the biggest hickey in history, pulling him away from the wall. He jumped up, wrapping his legs around my waist and burying his hands in my hair as my own hands came up to support him, clutching his backside.

Trying to figure out which direction to go to get to the damn bed, I let Naruto plunder my mouth like a pirate on crack looking for treasure, before finally, finally, we collapsed onto the bed, crushing together as we landed and gasping in unison.

"Oh fuck-"he gasped, biting into my neck.

"Yes please," was my answering moan before I claimed his lips, rolling us further onto the bed.

Everything from then on became a haze.

* * *

**KEEP READING FOR HUMOUR WITH KIBA AND THE GIRLS! Link to Lemonade: **http: / juura99 . livejournal . com

* * *

**~Extra Normal POV~**

Kiba opened his apartment door and was immediately welcomed by several pups yapping at his feet excitedly.

"Hey guys! Did you miss me?" he cooed, closing the door before any of them could escape and kneeling down to ruffle their fur. A specific white pup with brown ears was trying to lick his face off, and he laughed.

"Akamaru! Calm down you silly runt!" he joked, petting the happy dog on the head as it yipped happily.

"Hey Kiba, you've got two friends here," Tsume said as she stepped out of the kitchen, a dishtowel in her claws-er-hands.

"Friends? Who?" Kiba asked, standing and walking towards her. She just motioned towards his room and he quickly made his way down the hall and stepped into his room.

"Hi Kiba!"

"Hello K-Kiba-kun!"

Kiba jumped at seeing Sakura and Hinata sitting on his bed. Sakura looked a bit too cheerful for his liking, the smile on her face almost deviant while Hinata was blushing...then again, she was always blushing so he couldn't tell much by that.

"Uh, hi girls! What're you doing here?" he questioned, walking into the room and closing his door.

"KIBA LEAVE YOUR DOOR OPEN! I DON'T WANT YOU AND THOSE GIRLS DOING ANYHTING INNAPPROPRIATE!" his mother roared and he yelped before yanking it open again.

"Right! Sorry ma! AND WE WOULDN'T ANYWAY!" he called back indignantly.

"So _that's_ where he gets it..." Sakura mumbled, understanding that the virgin-protective habit must have run in the family. Kiba moved to sit at his computer chair, turning to face the girls.

"So, what brings you to my humble kennel?" he grinned, and Hinata giggled at the reference. Sakura smirked at Kiba's antics before she shrugged.

"Well, I just thought we'd come pay you a visit. I was going to invite Naruto, but, you know, with all this court stuff going on he's pretty tired today, so I thought I'd let him...rest."

Hinata blushed a bit, nodding in agreement to Sakura's statement.

Kiba nodded, agreeing himself. "Yeah, I'm sure he must be tired after today."

Sakura stifled a laugh.

They talked about the court issue for a few more minutes before a thump came from behind Kiba's wall.

Three pairs of eyes turned to it curiously. Another thump sounded before a faint creak was heard. Sakura and Hinata turned to Kiba, wide-eyed as he stared at the wall in confusion.

"What the hell?" he asked, moving to get up.

"AH! Kiba, y-you have t-to tell me w-where you g-got that p-poster!" Hinata suddenly said loudly, pointing at the poster behind Kiba's head. He turned and Sakura gave Hinata a silent high five.

"Oh, that! Yeah, I got that for my birthday last-"

Another thump and creak, louder this time. Hinata was blushing fiercely while Sakura tried to look normal. Kiba turned around again, raising an eyebrow.

"Seriously, what is that sound? Is Naruto hitting pillows against the wall again?" he asked, moving towards the wall, intent on banging back and asking what the hell was up.

Sakura stood, trying to figure out how to distract him while Hinata started to stutter terribly, obviously not sure what to say but trying to say _something_.

As Kiba reached the wall and raised his fist to knock, an unmistakable sound me their ears.

"Ah, Sasuke! Aah!"

Kiba's eyes bugged while Hinata covered her face, her ears glowing red. Sakura looked torn between laughing and crying as she watched Kiba slowly turn to face her, his face pale in understanding.

"A-Are they...are they..."

"N-Naruto! Uhn.."

Kiba whirled around, sprinting for his door. "I'VE GOTTA STOP THIS!" he yelped, his skin white.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Sakura gave a loud war cry, diving forward and wrapping her arms around Kiba's legs. He yelled out as he crashed to the floor, flailing his arms. Hinata quickly ran out the room as the thumps, creaks and voices grew more frequent and louder. She closed the door to Kiba's bedroom and thankfully the noise was shut off.

Kiba struggled against Sakura's hold, and the pink haired girl tried not to get kicked in the stomach.

"LET ME GO SAKURA!"

"NO!"

"I HAVE TO STOP THEM! THEY'RE...THEY'RE...OH GOD THEY'RE _DOING_ IT!"

"SO? LET THEM DO IT!"

"ARE YOU _INSANE_?.!"

Sakura growled. "Hinata help me hold him down!" she called as Kiba used his hands to claw his way down the hall, dragging Sakura with him. Hinata quickly ran over, taking a moment to stutter and hesitate before she shrugged and sat on Kiba's back. He coughed at the sudden drop, but still struggled.

"You girls have to let me go! Do you have any idea what's going to happen if we let them do that?" Kiba hissed furiously, still trying to escape their clutches. Sakura moved quickly, sitting on Kiba's legs and pinning him down.

"No! What's so bad about them taking their relationship further?" She huffed, out of breath from the struggle.

"Sasuke's a horny pervert! HE'LL WANT TO DO IT EVERY TIME HE'S OVER AT NARUTO'S HOUSE! I'll NEVER HAVE A PEACEFUL NIGHT _EVER AGAIN_!" Kiba wailed.

Sakura and Hinata shared a look that said 'this is true...poor Kiba' but they shook their heads nonetheless.

"K-Kiba-kun, they should b-be allowed to show t-their love for each other t-this way, especially i-if they mean it! P-Please don't r-ruin this special moment f-for them." Hinata pleaded softly, petting Kiba on the head.

Kiba paused, looking over his shoulder at Hinata's pleading eyes and Sakura's threatening countenance before he sighed explosively and nodded. As the girls smiled, he collapsed, folding his arms and placing his head into them before he let out a series of loud sobs.

"Goodbye quiet nights!" he mourned, and Sakura giggled while Hinata rubbed his head sympathetically.

"You're making a very brave sacrifice Kiba. They are indebted to you!" Sakura said, while she gave Hinata a victory sign.

"The things I do for love..." Kiba huffed before a rather loud scream from behind his bedroom door caught his sensitive ears and he moaned, covering his head with his arms.

"I hate my life!"

"Oh Kiba..."

* * *

**Reviews! I DEMAND THEM!**

**PREVIEW!**

_Kabuto and Orochimaru are gone for good at last, and Shikamaru comes through with an interesting surprise. Finally, how does Sasuke's family react when Sasuke gets home after his night with Naruto? Find out next time!_

~**This story is SPONSORED, FED, WATERED, AND PLEASURED-er-CUDDLED by your reviews. :D**~_  
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	38. Chapter 38

**READ THIS! HEY! HEY YOU THERE! YEAH YOU, THE READER THAT WANTS TO SKIP THIS NOTE! NO! GET YO ASS BACK HERE AND READ THIS! GOT IT? Good.**

**Ahem, two decisions have been made. ONE! This story will end on chapter 40. So, only two more chapters left! *listens to sobs* Yes, yes but it's time. And descision number 2? I will leave the lemon posted on my LiveJournal. The link to said lemon can be found in the previous chapter, so for all readers who asked where to find it, you can follow the link and read it on my livejournal. If, for whatever reason, you cannot access it, send me a PM with an emal address (include spaces so it will show) and I'll send the lemonade section of the chapter to you directly. There we go.**

**To Classified: **_XD I'm sorry, but your review made me laugh loudly and long at your expense! Ahahahhaa, don't worry, Kiba feels sympathy for you even if he hasn't experienced quite the same horrors. And don't worry, you won't suffer alone. Kiba has a habit of bad timing and unfortunate luck, I'm sure he'll see plenty of horrors in future. :P_

**To Sierra: **_I'm glad you like my stories so much, and I'm thankful for all the lovely reviews you've given me. To answer your, semi-questions, sorta though, I actually feel proud if there are non-yaoi fans reading this and making pleasant comments. The few readers who are non-yaoi fans haven't flamed my story, they've commented on it positively. I'm happy that my story appeals to them, especially since the main couple and characters are yaoi. It makes me smile to know that the humour and overall friendship in the story is enjoyable for them too. That's why I accommodate their simple requests of putting warnings before extreme yaoi or such. And as for why I didn't post the lemon right here and leave it here is pretty simple. I don't do lemons, I am not allowed to do lemons, I had to bargain, beg, plea, become a slave for a day and otherwise risk my ass to negotiate and be allowed to even write the damn lemon in the first place. I didn't post it on here because as I said in the very beginning and several chapters ago, this story is to REMAIN T RATED on . The Lemonade was a kind of bonus for all the yaoi fangirls, and it was a once off thing, really. I'm leaving it on LiveJournal for all those who wish to read it whenever, but I will not post it here. Once again, thank you for all the reviews and I hope you continue to enjoy my stories!_

**To Adrian Nite: **_I frikken adore you, you silly twat! How could I possible hate you and try to update when you cannot review? :P Muahahha, but I did work hard to update! Thanks for all the splendid reviews, they really made me laugh and grin!__ I look forward to more from you!_

**And to all my other WONDERFULLY BEAUTIFUL REVIEWERS! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'm sorry if I haven't replied, but do not for one second think I don't love you all and become as giddy as a vampire on blood-sugar rush when I read your marvellous reviews!**** They are awesome, you are awesome, GIVE YOURSELFS A GLOMP FROM ME!**

**Kao: You're high...you've gotta be high...**

**Me: :D ANYWAY! Not much left. Yea, we reaching the final chapters. OH! I was going to put the surprise from Shikamaru in this chapter, but then I realized it would be WAY too long...so that'll come next chapter. And then after that, the final chapter, epilogue-ish thing... AND THEN IT'S OVER AND YE SHALL ALL WEEP AND RE-READ! XD**

**Online!  
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I stared up at the ceiling, my fingers absently stroking through Sasuke's hair as the birds outside began to chirp as the sun finally pulled itself from behind the horizon at the pace of a snail on sedatives. Sasuke's arms were still wrapped around my chest, his face buried into my neck while he breathed deeply, lost in the endless realms of sleep. Occasionally, he would snuffle and mumble incoherently, and I would suppress a laugh whenever he moaned out a panicked 'Itachi, don't eat my tomato!' or something similar.

I was still in awe over last night. We had actually done it. We'd had sex.

Wow.

I heard Sasuke sigh and felt him curl up closer, his arms tightening around me and a smile curved my face whether I wanted it to or not. Sasuke was so cute sometimes; he just didn't know it or didn't want to hear it.

I thought over everything that had happened yesterday. Tsunade and Jiraiya had been quick to identify the new jury the moment we described them, and they were sure that Orochimaru had specifically requested them to take on this case just so that they would rule in his favour. It was bribery, foul play and a whole lot of other things that would result in both Kabuto and Orochimaru getting punished. And there was no chance of escape short of fleeing the country.

A groan caught my attention, and I shifted as Sasuke finally woke up, blinking his eyes open against my chest. I saw the slight smile on his face before he kissed my chest and pulled his head back enough to look at me. I grinned down at him.

"Good morning sunshine!" I greeted, and he snorted and rolled his eyes.

"It is a good morning...after all, it was a great night," he said, smirking at me while I fought down the redness in my cheeks.

"Asshole," I mumbled and he grinned.

"Yes, it was lovely, thank you for giving it to me."

"TEME!" I hit him across the head while he snickered before sitting up and stretching languidly, his muscles flexing. I leant back, crossing my arms under my head and sighing happily. Sasuke lay back beside me, mimicking my arm movements and the two of us stared up at the ceiling, talking quietly about the court case, last night, our friends, last night, that new area opening up in Shaiya, last night, my so called 'ramen addiction'...oh, and last night.

"But seriously, Sasuke...I can't believe you freaked out when you found my prostate-thingy."

Sasuke scoffed, his cheeks reddening. "Forgive me for getting surprised. You just suddenly screamed like a madman, how was I supposed to tell if it was a good scream or a bad one?" he grumbled defensively.

I growled. "You were pretty noisy yourself!" I countered, and he turned onto his side.

"Not as noisy as you."

"I was not that noisy!"

"No, but compared to me, you were a wailing banshee, dobe."

"Bullshit! I was not a-Fuck!" I gasped before glaring. "Teme, where the hell are you grabbing?"

He grinned. "What? It's my property!"

I gaped at him. "Your property-you _asshole_ it's not your property! Get your hand off my junk!" I kicked away from him while he just smirked like the smug bastard he is. Sighing, I threw the blanket off, hissing a bit at the cold air, before standing up and stretching. I duly ignored the loud wolf whistle from behind me and walked over to my closet, grabbing a pair of boxers.

"Don't forget, Sasuke, your dad said you had to go back home today. You and Itachi are going to be helping him sort out some files for this court thing, apparently," I said as I got dressed, turning to see Sasuke watching me like a hawk. "Take a picture, it lasts longer!" I said dryly.

"Great idea!" Sasuke said, reaching for his phone. I threw my socks at him, snickering when he caught them and threw them back with as much force as I did. "You're so mean to me," he sighed.

"Says the guy who enjoys watching girls cry," I retorted and Sasuke shrugged, laying back like the king of the world.

"What can I say, it's high class entertainment for bastards," he said airily.

I laughed, walking back over to the bed and leaning over to kiss him.

"Morning, asshole."

"Morning, dumbass."

After a short round of making out-which led to groping and eventually ending with Sasuke giving me head- and Sasuke was dressed and ready to go home to his lair. We sat down for a moment, Sasuke stroking a hand through my hair while I rested my head against his chest.

"You don't regret anything, do you?" he asked softly, and I smiled at the small ounce of insecurity I could hear in his tone. I squeezed his hand, looking up to kiss his jaw.

"Nope. And I never will," I reassured him, and his smile was felt by my lips as he said goodbye in the form of a kiss.

I walked him to the door, making sure he had all his things, although it wouldn't matter since he came over here so often anyway, and the same for me. I was sure quite a few of my things were stashed in his bedroom from all my visits.

"So, you coming home this weekend?" he asked, smirking. I nodded, grinning at the mention of 'home'.

"Yeah. We're lucky we got the rest of this week off school."

"Rest of this week, you say. It's Friday, dobe. This week is over."

"Ah you know what I mean, teme," I said, waving him off. He chuckled, opening the door. His chuckle died in his throat when he came face to face with a very grumpy looking Kiba.

My eyes grew wide and I literally saw the blood drain from Sasuke's face, leaving him a sickly white.

Kiba just stared at him, dark rings under his eyes and I could've sworn I saw the beginnings of a sharp tooth poking out from one corner of his mouth. He was hunching and honestly, he looked exhausted and miffed.

"Uh...h-hey Kiba!" I greeted. Maybe, just maybe, he hadn't heard anything and he thought we were still virgins!

"You guys are loud."

...So much for that idea...

"Even the girl's non-stop talking couldn't drown you guys out," Kiba continued, his expression growing grumpier and grumpier with every word.

Sasuke took a shaky step back, and I saw how wide his eyes were. They looked ready to roll out of his head and his hands tightened around his bag strap. Suddenly, Kiba thrust out his hand, palm up and Sasuke squeaked slightly, although I'm sure he'd deny the sound ever happening.

We both stared at Kiba's hand, which was an inch from Sasuke's face. Seconds ticked by before Kiba waggled his fingers impatiently.

"Well, come on!" Kiba grunted moodily. "Give it up!"

Sasuke's eyes trailed to me, looking for guidance but I could only shrug. I had no idea what Kiba was talking about. Slowly, Sasuke looked back at him.

"Give...Give what up?" he asked slowly.

Kiba's face was absolutely blank. "Give up the money for earplugs. I'm going to need them after last night if I ever want a peaceful night ever again."

I blinked and watched as slowly, cautiously, Sasuke reached into his back pocket and withdrew his wallet. As if he was handling a nuclear bomb, he carefully placed a few coins into Kiba's hand and the brunet grunted, withdrawing his hand before he stomped over to his own door.

"Oh, and congratulations guys. I _guess_ it's cool that you've taken that step and are closer and all...but just know," There was a definite gleam to Kiba's eyes as he glared right at Sasuke. "If I catch wind of anything _kinky_ going on, there will be blood...and lots of it. Understand me, Uchiha?"

"Understood," Sasuke even saluted him.

With a final grunt, Kiba retreated back into his apartment and Sasuke and I turned to face each other, still pale. I looked at Sasuke carefully, seeing the way he was still white as a sheet and his eyes still slightly wider than normal.

"No one will blame you if you run home screaming for your mom after that," I said sincerely.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

I had sex with Naruto! I had sex with Naruto! I had-

Okay seriously, I had to get rid of that mantra. It couldn't be very appropriate for finding my inner peace.

Finding my inner pervert, yes, but not finding my inner peace.

I was walking home at the moment...although 'walking' might not be the right term to describe it. Strutting was probably a more accurate term. I could almost hear the Bee Gee's song 'Staying Alive' playing somewhere in the background as I made my way home in all my newly-laid glory. I received a fair few looks from people passing by, and I couldn't help but smirk at most of them.

Was it wrong of me to gloat over the fact I'd finally slept with my gorgeous boyfriend? I think it was a wonderful accomplishment that not only brought us closer together and insured my claim over him...it had felt incredible!

I reached my street and quickly tried to smooth down my appearance to the usual, slightly forlorn look I wore when I returned home after a satisfying stay at Naruto's house. Oh, and was it ever satisfy-

NO! Bad Sasuke! Look _sad_! Like a...like a...like a _HUSH PUPPY_!

Yes, put on your Hush Puppy face!

I quickly walked up the steps and opened the front door, noting the two extra pairs of shoes by the door. I recognized them at once as Kisame's and Deidara's. Looks like they were visiting yet _again_.

Sighing at the fact I was home with the Three Douche-keteers, I shoved my hands into my pockets and made my way into the kitchen to grab a snack. While rummaging in the fridge, I heard footsteps and then Deidara's voice reached my ears.

"Oh! Baby Uchiha is back, un!" he greeted, and I scowled and pulled my head out of the fridge to implore him to jump in front of a speeding ice-cream truck. However, as I opened my mouth, the words stopped when I noticed his expression.

He was staring at me with something akin to shock.

"...What-"

He turned and bolted from the room before I'd even asked my question, and I listened to his hurried footsteps before shrugging and continuing my search for the tomato I'd hidden in the fridge earlier that week.

Finding my treasure I withdrew from the fridge in time to see Deidara come streaking back in, dragging a very confused Kisame with him.

"Deidara, what's-" Kisame began, but he was cut off by Deidara grabbing his chin and turning his face towards me.

"Look at him!" Deidara hissed, as though I couldn't hear. "Tell me he looks like...like he's..."

Kisame stared at me before a grin broke out onto his face.

Well, I guessed it was a grin; it was hard to tell with Deidara's fingers messing his face up.

"Well shave my balls and sell them to a kids playroom, I do believe he has!" Kisame said, pulling out of Deidara's grip while the blond made several odd choking sounds. I took a step back while Kisame came and stood over me, leering down like a psycho.

"What the hell?" I growled as he kept leaning forward.

"Oh, Itachi is going to have a heart attack when he finds out!" Kisame chuckled before stepping back, giving me another once over. "But it's so _obvious_...oh yes, yes." He nodded sagely, even while Deidara began making indistinguishable gestures with his hands and squeaking weirdly.

I raised an eyebrow, confused as to what they were going on about.

"What do you-?"

Suddenly, there was a sigh from the doorway.

"So this is where you two ran off to. What's happening here that draws such attention?" Itachi asked, walking into the kitchen and running a hand through his hair. Kisame grinned like a madman and quickly stepped up to Itachi, blocking his view of me.

"Hey, Itachi! You remember how you were going on about your 'innocent baby brother' not too long ago?" he asked excitedly, and I felt more than saw Itachi's embarrassment at that little reveal.

"Kisame, _you_-"

"Yeah, yeah, you're going to gut me alive. Whatever! Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is; have a look at your brother _now_ and tell me what you think of his 'innocence'!" Kisame said, stepping aside.

It was at his words that the horrible realization dawned on me.

They knew. Dear sweet merciful ball-sacks of the Gods, they _knew_!

They knew what I'd done last night with Naruto! Oh this could be bad...this could be unbelievably bad...

"S-Sasuke?" Itachi asked, his eyes wide as he stared at me like it was the first time he'd ever seen me. I swallowed, absently tossing the tomato from one hand to the other while trying not to blush under his gaze. If I blushed, it would all be revealed, but if I stayed cool like I usually would then it would all be fine. Itachi would just put it off as Kisame being a retard...again.

"Sasuke," Itachi began again, his tone now stern and yet still slightly hesitant. "Have you...Are you...Have you had..._sex_...with Naruto?" he asked slowly, the word seeming to be foreign on his tongue.

Now then, if what he was asking _wasn't_ true, I'd simply scoff and say something like 'Hn. I know I look good, but I can pull that off without having to rely on an afterglow'.

Yes, perfect! Just say it like you'd normally say it!

"Meep!" I squeaked.

WHAT THE _FUCK_ WAS THAT?.!

"Oh my God..." Itachi breathed. He knew! They all _knew_! Great work Sasuke, you've just screwed yourself over! I should just take a sign saying 'total fuck-tard' and shove it up my ass to complete the image!

Itachi stepped back, falling into a chair that Kisame kindly moved forwards for his use before he took up the wonderful job of staring at me.

I stared back, still beating myself to within an inch of my dignity on the inside at my oh-so-eloquent reply to his question. After a moment Itachi let out a sigh, running his hand over his face.

"Wow..." he murmured, sliding his hand down until it covered his mouth while he continued to stare at me. Suddenly, his head shot up and his eyes grew serious. "Did you use protection?"

I swallowed thickly. No...No we hadn't. Although I was certain that neither of us had any sort of STD so I wouldn't worry much for now. But in future I had better remember to use protection for both our sakes.

"Sasuke, you need to use protection in future! For both your sakes. You never know what might happen," Itachi lectured, his face regaining some of its colour. I nodded quickly.

"I know..." I murmured, still embarrassed at having been found out. It's not like I was ashamed of it or anything of the like, I just wasn't sure how my family would react and on top of that, it was a personal subject between Naruto and I. No one else really had to know about what went on.

Itachi sighed again, leaning back. "I can't believe it...my little brother is a man." He looked to the ceiling briefly. "Well, almost."

I raised an eyebrow in question and he smirked. "Just because you got laid doesn't mean you're suddenly a mature, sophisticated human. I'm afraid that's probably not possible for you."

I wished there was a pineapple nearby so I could ram it up his ass and see how much of a 'sophisticated human' he was after that.

"Hn," I glared and Itachi snickered.

"I for one can't wait to see mother and father's reaction to this news," he said slyly, and I know I paled at the mere thought. No way could I face them yet. Not yet...I'd just avoid them for a little bit longer-

"Itachi? Is Sasuke home?" My mother asked as she entered the kitchen.

No amount of Uchiha pride could have stopped me from diving under the table and out of sight before she could see me, but I heard the clear amusement in Itachi's voice as he answered.

"Actually, he just left. Said he had to check up on something quickly. He should be back later."

"Oh really? I swore I heard him talking in here just a moment ago!"

"That was me."

"You were talking to yourself?"

"No, I was reciting an amusing conversation I had with Sasuke a while ago for Kisame's benefit. Isn't that right, Kisame?"

"Oh yes. It was very amusing."

Had I not been terrified of my hiding place being revealed, I may have leaned out and punched all of them, excluding my mother, in the shin for finding my panic so amusing. But then again they were helping me, sort of.

I leant back, placing my hands behind me to relax. Pain shot up from my right hand and I yelled out, turning to see a piece of the tile floor had cracked and a jagged end was sticking up. Blood was dripping from the small puncture wound, but my attention was diverted to Itachi's weaker but still amused voice speaking.

"Oh look...he's back..."

"Sasuke?" I gulped as my mother's face appeared, peering under the table curiously. "Whatever are you doing down there, dear?"

Perhaps God would take pity on me and let the floor swallow me up for a few hours...

"I..was checking on the...floor. It's broken..." I said lamely, blinking up at her from the shadows for the table. She couldn't see me properly because of the dim lighting and small space. Perhaps that's why she hadn't reacted yet.

"The _floor_ is _broken_..." she repeated slowly, her right eyebrow rising higher than even mine could reach. Not many people knew, but our fair mother was actually the one who invented the Uchiha Eyebrow Technique. She was the Queen at using it.

"...Yes?" I replied slowly, hoping she'd act like the goofy mother she often was when she was around Naruto or in a very good mood and just leave it alone.

"Sasuke, please come out from under the kitchen table," she said a bit sternly. Oh no, she knew something was up.

Swallowing, I crawled my out from under the table, distantly noting that I had dropped my tomato during my rush into hiding. I spotted it lying a few feet away, somehow miraculously on the countertop. However, the gasp I heard drew my attention back to my mother as she stared at me with wide eyes.

"Oh my..." she breathed, her cheeks turning pink. My own cheeks decided to mimic hers, and I glanced away. "Sasuke...did you..."

I gulped loudly, glancing at her before lowering my gaze and giving one, long and slow nod. That was all the confirmation she needed as she gasped again, and I imagined her looking far off, perhaps trying to comprehend the situation before...anger? Or maybe sadness? I wasn't sure what emotion she'd experience or what she'd do in this situation. It's not like it's happened before and I know what to expect.

Suddenly a high pitched scream made me yell and cover my ears, and I vaguely noted that Itachi and the others did the same, jerking back in their surprise. Before I could blink, arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me into a tight embrace as my mother started to sob and babble incoherently in my ear as I stared wide-eyed over her shoulder at the wall. Then I was being dragged to my feet-barely, I was slanted-and my mother was still hugging me tightly. I was able to make out the words 'All grown up' and 'so fast' and 'innocent baby boys' and a whole other mess of jumbled sounds that may have been interpretable by an expert on 'Mommy-Babble' but for me it was just noise.

Then, above all the other babble and pointless chatter, I heard her call out the words that would haunt my dreams for years.

"FUGAKU! OUR BABY BOY HAS ALREADY GONE OUT TO TRY AND SEW HIS WILD OATS INTO THE WORLD! HE'S GROWING UP SO FAST!"

While I continued to be hugged to death, staring blankly at the wall and slowly losing my oxygen supply while my mother rambled, babbled, sobbed and otherwise scared the shit out of me, there came heavy footsteps before father came trudging in. He took one look at the scene before speaking.

"Firstly, Mikoto dear, Sasuke doesn't have 'wild oats', he has sperm. Secondly, I can assure everyone he had no intention of sewing them into the world seeing as he has a _boyfriend_, stress on the word _boy_. Third, I am all knowing and _awesome_, so I already knew this would happen eventually and therefore I am not surprised in the least. And finally, honey, our 'baby boy' is turning blue."

Mother quickly let me go, and I took a deep breath to replenish my lost supplies. Itachi was looking highly concerned as he watched our mother dance around father, still rambling on about youth and oats and innocence and something about chubby cheeked cherubs.

It was, officially, the scariest thing I had ever witnessed in my life.

"So...you aren't upset?" I asked slowly, looking directly at my parents. Mother was smiling, her cheeks still red while father looked at me blankly.

"Of course not sweetie! I'm so happy for the two of you! You've shown your love for each other in the most sacred and intimate of ways! Now your souls are intertwined as one, and your destinies shall be wound together by the red threads of fate and then-"

"Mikoto, you have _got_ to stop watching those spiritual shows on T.V. They fill your head with even _more_ weirdness than normal," Father deadpanned, earning a slight glare from mother.

"What is wrong with being weird? And I am not weird! I'm beautiful!"

"There's nothing wrong with being eccentric on occasion, but comparing our son's sperm with 'wild oats' is just ridiculous. And you're not beautiful, you're a Goddess. The word beauty doesn't do you enough justice."

Deidara gave a loud snort, staring at the two incredulously. "You two have got to be the _strangest_, most _tripped-out couple_ I have EVER met in my entire life!"

I whole heartedly agreed with him.

We Uchiha's may keep up one hell of a cold front for the rest of the world but in the hallowed halls of our own home, we're just downright insane.

* * *

**~Naruto POV~**

I groaned, rolling over and cracking open an eye. It was still dark, and I sighed softly, wondering why I'd woken up at two thirty on a Monday morning.

The weekend had just blown by like a whirlwind, and it was already time for school again. Of course, coming 'home' to the Uchiha house had been extremely awkward since they all knew that Sasuke and I were no longer virgins. Mikoto had been prancing around the two of us all weekend, continually going on and on about how cute we were and how our love was blooming.

Later Sasuke explained she'd been watching some spiritual motivation shows on T.V, hence the over the top weirdness of her behaviour.

Fugaku had taken it rather well, simply congratulating us and looking a bit awkward before he nodded and went back to his office. I told Sasuke that he was probably going to weep a bit at the loss of his youngest son's remaining innocence.

Finally, Itachi and his friends had been hellish to deal with. Kisame seemed intent on getting the details of everything out of us while Deidara seemed to be horrified and impressed at once. He kept making weird squeaking sounds whenever we held hands and looked at us as though we were going to get down and dirty at any moment. As for Itachi?

Well, let's just say I am never going to be able to eat bananas, look at doughnuts or say 'pass the kiwis' ever again.

Suddenly an arm stretched over my side, wrapping around me and pulling me closer to the warm body it belonged to while even warmer breath washed over the back of my neck.

"Mmnn...wha's wrong?" Sasuke mumbled, his voice slurred and thick with sleep. I shook my head, glancing around the room.

"Don't know. I just woke up," I mumbled back, reaching down to lace my fingers with his. He sighed, clasping my hand.

"Nightmare?"

"I can't remember having one..." I whispered back, trying to think. Actually I couldn't remember dreaming at all. Sasuke huffed out a breath, pulling me until I was on my back and he could look at me.

"You sure?" he asked, eyes slowly gaining coherency as his sleep simmered away.

I smiled, reaching up to flick his forehead. "Yes, teme, I'm sure. Relax, I told you I didn't regret anything and I'm not going to suddenly have a traumatic relapse."

Sasuke glanced away, frowning at being caught out on his worries and I snickered.

"Go back to sleep you old grump," I teased, knocking his shoulder and trying to turn back over.

Keyword is 'trying'. Sasuke pressed a hand to my chest, leering down at me in the dark. I growled, trying to push his hand off but he held it steady, leaning down to whisper into my ear.

"Since we're awake, how about a little fun?"

"Teme! We're at your parent's house!"

"Technically it's my house too, since I don't live separately."

"Still, your parents are home. _And_ your brother! _And_ your brother's _friends_! We're not doing it!"

"Aw c'mon Naru!"

"Geez, Kiba was right! You are a horny pervert!"

"Do not mention Kiba while we are in bed, especially before sex."

"Did you not hear me? No sex tonight!"

"Hn. Just keep your voice down and it'll be fine."

"Keep my-YOU keep _YOUR_ voice down!"

"So you agree we can do it then! Now sit up so I can get your boxers off."

"What the _fuck_ did I just say?.!"

...

Sadly, Sasuke won out in the end and I was stuck with a pillow over my face for the rest of the darkened hours before sunrise.

Damn perverts.

"If I limp, I'm going to make you eat dog shit while Kiba watches with a camera."

"Hn. Whatever babe."

"Don't call me babe."

"Babe."

"Sasuke..."

"..."

"That's what I thought."

"...Babe."

I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu as I punched Sasuke through the blanket.

* * *

The walk through the school grounds was tiring, long and endlessly annoying as all the loud screeching of students, the tapping of shoes on asphalt and concrete and the endless rustle of cloth being shifted echoed around me.

Beside me, Sasuke was nursing a similar annoyance; tell tale by the way he rubbed at his temples incessantly. After our, ahem, _activities_, we'd fallen asleep rather quickly only to be rudely awakened not more than two hours later by Itachi throwing Deidara onto the bed and, subsequently, on top of us. He'd been fast asleep too, so all three of us woke up rather unpleasantly while Itachi just scurried away like the weasel he was, laughing evilly all the while. Sasuke had cursed up a storm after shoving his face into a pillow lest Mikoto hear him and come floating into the room with some strange punishment or another. Deidara had apologized before he left and we gained some satisfaction when we heard Itachi yelling out 'why the hell are my favourite boxers in the blender?' and Deidara's snide laughter before the sound of said blender being turned on high reached our ears.

On the way to school, we'd stopped off at our ever-favourite cafe to get some breakfast. Sasuke had seemed extremely annoyed with the cashier for some reason, but I did spy him giving her a book form his bag. When I asked him about it, he pushed me into an alleyway and tried to molest it out of my mind, so I simply let it go in exchange for getting to school on time without any hickeys adorning my neck. Now we were making our way through the white, mental-institution hallways of our school and ignoring all the noise around us.

As we sidled up to our first class, which was as always, Maths, Sakura came trotting down the hall. Her eyes shone as she finally reached us and gave us both a once over.

"So, I believe congratulations are in order!" she said slyly, and I groaned.

"Please don't whip out a card," I begged and she gave a mock gasp, clutching a hand over her heart.

"Why Naruto! I cannot believe you would even think I would do something so humiliating to you and Sasuke such as to get you a lowly hallmark card in congratulations on taking the next step together! That's just sad!" she said, waggling her finger and scowling at me.

I smiled, relieved. "Oh good. And you're right, it is sad."

"Exactly!" She said, and suddenly grinned, reaching back into her bag. "Which is why I got you both a mug instead!" she cheered, pulling out two wrapped objects.

Sasuke started to laugh while I threw myself against the wall in a desperate attempt to knock myself out for the rest of the day even as students began to file around us as the bell rang.

I groaned as Sakura placed the wrapped object into my hand, and carefully I pulled it open to peek inside while Sasuke did the same. My face burned red at what I saw and I yanked out the mug.

"What the fuck?" I roared, angrily glaring at the word 'Uke' imprinted in orange on the black mug. I heard Sasuke laugh again, and turned to see him holding a dark red mug with the word 'Seme' written on it in blue. Turning my glare to Sakura, I bristled when she doubled over laughing.

"Sakura-chan!" I whined, "What makes you think I'm the 'uke'?"

Both Sakura and Sasuke snorted loudly at that, and I sent them both my most crippling glare. Sakura petted my head in return and Sasuke squeezed my ass.

The world was against me, I just knew it.

"Oh come on Naruto, it's perfect for you two! Just think, years from now when we're all out of school and don't see each other as often, you and Sasuke will be sharing an apartment and you'll wake up in the mornings, make coffee and drink it out of these mugs! I can see it now!" Sakura ranted, eyes going glassy while her arms made sweeping motions in the air before her.

"As interesting as your psychic abilities may be, I'd like to enter my own classroom now, Haruno."

Sakura jumped out of the way while Mizuki chuckled, twirling his keys on his finger.

"Sorry Sensei," Sakura mumbled, quickly moving into line. We filed into the classroom and took our seats, but not before Mizuki got a good look at the mugs Sasuke and I were holding. Mizuki shook his head.

"Teenagers," he scoffed, moving to his desk before turning to face us all. "Alright you gaggle of runts, listen up. I've got a lot of marking to do, and so today you can all do something else in this lesson. Overdue homework, reading, projects, doodling quietly...all of that is acceptable. Just keep yourselves constructively occupied and in silence. If you agree to do that, you can sit with your friends but remember, be quiet."

The class gave a short cheer before everyone moved to sit with their friends. Most of the class did pull out homework and projects to work on with their friends. Sasuke, Kiba and Hinata migrated over to us, despite the few brave girls asking Sasuke to sit with them. He just ignored them and sat next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

The look on his face was the equivalent to him saying 'See this guy here? Yeah? He's my bitch, so back off.'

Shikamaru also came over, and he was actually looking quite pleased with himself. As he sat down, he scooted closer to the middle and spoke softly.

"Hey, are you guys all free after school tomorrow?" he asked softly so as not to disturb the reasonable quiet permeating the class while Mizuki scratched away at his papers.

"Yeah, I'm not doing anything." Sakura said, chewing on her pencil.

Kiba nodded, eyes briefly glancing up from the comic he'd pulled out. "Yeah, I'm free too," he spoke and Hinata stuttered out an agreement.

Shikamaru turned to the two of us. "What about you two?"

I thought carefully, trying to recall if there was anything I had planned. Finally I shook my head. "Nothing planned for me."

"Hn. Same."

Shikamaru grinned. "Excellent. Then meet me at the school gates tomorrow after school, and we'll be heading to the mall," he said.

"Why? What's happening?" I asked curiously, scooting a bit closer. Shikamaru's grin widened and he started to speak.

Just then a loud bout of laughter sounded from one side of the class, and everyone turned to see three guys laughing at something written in another's workbook. Mizuki glared over at them.

"Oi, I said to be quiet!" he snapped, and the tallest of the guys turned to face him.

"But sir, we're stuck on this one question for a history sheet!" he exclaimed, grin still in place.

"So you can be stuck in silence too." Mizuki said, turning back to his papers.

"But this is a hard question!" The other guy asked, tapping the paper. "Sir, do _you_ know who first suggested reproduction without sex?" he asked, grinning.

"Yeah, your girlfriend. Now shut up." Mizuki deadpanned, not looking up from his work even as the class erupted into giggles and snickers while the guy blushed and grumbled.

"That was mean, sir!" he called. "Aren't teachers supposed to uplift our spirits?"

"You can't uplift _anything_, Sora, which is probably why your girlfriend became asexual in the first place. Now if you don't shut up, I'm going to give you detention."

"But sir-"

"Do you have a pink-paper fetish? I can give you a lot of them if you really want."

"I don't-"

"-Care whether I'm being an asshole or not. Shut up, sit down and act like a statue before I send you to the principal's office for multiple counts of disobedience." Mizuki finished smoothly, still scribbling on his papers.

The guy, Sora, huffed and sat down, glaring moodily around the room while the rest of the class muffled their laughter into their hands.

We turned back to each other while Shikamaru cleared his throat and regained his train of thought.

"Anyway, just wait and see tomorrow. Don't worry, it's nothing sinister," he reassured before scooting back and closing his eyes, obviously intent on catching a nap. The rest of us all looked between ourselves in confusion before shrugging and becoming otherwise occupied.

They day passed by nicely, and even though English was complete and utter torture with Itachi- "Little brother, remove your hand from Naruto-kun's pants. This morning was quite enough, thank you."- not to mention embarrassing, the end of school came and we were making our way home.

Sasuke spent the afternoon at my apartment, talking, helping me with some of my homework and finally attempting to get into my pants...again. Sadly, he was a lot more persuasive than I originally thought and I ended up agreeing, albeit a bit begrudgingly.

However, just as he was about, ahem..._enter_...Kiba knocked down my door and charged in, one hand slightly covering his eyes while the other pointed threateningly at us even as we tried to cover up.

"HOLD THE DICK-DUNKING RIGHT THERE, YOU DOUCHEBAG! MY GRANDPARENT'S ARE VISITING AND THEY DO NOT NEED TO DIE OF HEART ATTACKS BECAUSE OUR GAY NEIGHBOURS ARE DOING THE RAINBOW FLAG TANGO!"

And so we were thwarted in our attempts of doing, as Kiba put it, the Rainbow Flag Tango.

Sasuke was grumpy for the rest of the afternoon until he went home.

* * *

**~Sasuke POV~**

When I finally reached my house, my bad mood had lightened somewhat. Although, really...I had had half a mind to be extra loud during sex just to spite Kiba, but Naruto had thwarted that idea the moment he pulled his boxers back on and gave me The Look.

I still want to know how he learned to do The Look. My mother must have taught him when I wasn't looking.

Frowning-not pouting- at my bad luck, I stepped inside only to be greeted by the sight of two police officers sitting in my living room. I paled, immediately assuming the worse and almost threw a fit when they turned to look at me.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Where's my family?" I fired off question after question, each one coming out with more and more acid and underlying panic. One of the officers stood up, his face blank and I prepared to throw my bag at him if he didn't answer. Before I could do something that would most likely result in my arrest, Father and Itachi came out of the kitchen.

"Sasuke, you're home." Father nodded his greeting while I slowly lowered my bag, my eyes scanning both of them for injuries.

"Where's mother?" was my immediate answer when I couldn't see her anywhere. The policemen's presence was setting me on edge. I wanted to know where all of my family was, before finding out why they were here.

"Relax, foolish little brother. Mother is making these gentleman some tea. We are all fine." Itachi spoke smoothly, reading me like a book as always. I let my muscles unclench and calmed down. It was never pleasant to see grim looking officers in your home and not know why they were here, especially when your family wasn't in immediate sight.

"Sorry...Why are they here?" I asked, tilting my head towards the silent police. Father smirked, one of his hands sinking into his pockets.

"They were just informing us of some rather interesting news..."

I tilted my head in inquiry, stepping forward and now hearing the soft hum of my mother's voice as she sang in the kitchen. It helped ease the last of my tension and I was able to focus more clearly on my Father's voice.

"News?"

"It seems Orochimaru and his little rat attempted to flee the country earlier. However, one of our connections at the airport spotted them and immediately informed the authorities, who were looking for them for questioning regarding out latest findings of their foul-play. Both Orochimaru and Kabuto are in police custody, and things are not looking good for either of them."

I grinned, thoroughly pleased with the news. "So they're busted? They're going to jail?"

"Unless Orochimaru manages to pull a miracle out of his rectum, then yes, he's going to jail and Kabuto will be going to a juvenile prison," one of the officers spoke up, tilting his head to the side. I shivered at seeing the scars adorning his face, but kept it hidden.

"Exactly. Thank you very much for coming to inform us, Ibiki."

"It was my pleasure." Ibiki said, smirking calmly as he crossed his legs. His partner finally sat down, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair. Distractedly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a toothpick, placing it between his lips before leaning back.

"I still can't get the image out my head," he mumbled through the wood and Ibiki nodded sympathetically.

I blinked, confused. "Image?"

The other officer looked up, and I saw his nametag at last. 'Officer Shiranui Genma'

"Yes. We searched both of their luggage at the airport, and we found a rather disturbing album in Kabuto's bag," the toothpick twitched to the side, "It seems Kabuto has some experience in molesting people..."

I frowned in disgust, subconsciously clenching my right fist. The memory of it slamming against Kabuto's stomach shimmered to the forefront of my mind, and I calmed myself by recalling that I'd already gotten even with him...slightly.

"So there's no way for them to get away this time?" I asked again, confirming it. Ibiki nodded and Genma shrugged.

"Like my partner says, unless Orochimaru does some epic yoga and pulls out God himself from his ass to give him a miracle, both those two are going to go away for a very long time."

I resisted the urge to fist pump.

...

I might have failed just a little.

Father smirked, reaching up and ruffling my hair. "Go on. We've just got a few more things to discuss with Ibiki and Genma, but you don't have to worry any more. This whole thing is finally over for good."

I smirked back, turning towards the stairs and waving over my shoulder. "Glad to know...I'll make sure to give Naruto the good news."

And what good news it was.

* * *

**Hehehe...did anyone notice the little play off on an earlier chapter? XD I find it cute since we're nearing the end to start referring back to past chapters...I dunno, I'm weird.**

**Kao: Yes...yes you are.**

**Me: Shut up Foo'!**

**Kao: *rolls eyes* whatever, you inside out coconut, just get on with it! I'm growing a beard here!**

**Me: You couldn't grow a beard if one lathered itself in glue and wrestled with your face. But I shall move on...**

**PREVIEW**

_Okay, Shikamaru's surprise actually happens in this chapter.__...yeah... ¬_¬ that's...that's about the entire chapter, I guess. XD_

**REVIEW! THERE'S ONLY A LIMITED AMOUNT OF CHAPTERS LEFT, SO LEAVE YOUR MOST HEARTFELT REVIEWS FOR THESE LAST THREE CHAPTERS! C'MON! You know you want to! :P**_  
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	39. Chapter 39

**Kao: *walks in, wearing cameo gear and looking sullen* Hello all you readers! It is I, the awesome Kao-**

**Kam: WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! GET TO THE POINT!**

**Kao: Alright, alright sheesh! Everyone, this is a heads up! Little over a week ago, Juura-sensei's older sister arrived, and is now living with her and her mom. Yay, family is together again...well, almost. But anyway, this is all nice and yay and hooray candy cakes...EXCEPT!...Her sister is not a fan of anime at all...in fact, she really dislikes it (because she's just silly that way) and on top of that, she is extremely anti-yaoi...So, for those who haven't already guessed (Or read Sensei's DA Updates) Juura cannot write nearly as often, as much, or as quickly as before because now she has to wind and weave her way around so that her sister won't give her crap about the fact she writes fanfiction... So updates will be slower than ever. I hope you will all stay with her nonetheless! Q_Q PLEASE STAY!**

**Kam: As for this chapter, Sensei wasn't sure what to think. (Being around her anti-anime sis has proven to be one helluva inspiration killer) but she hopes this chapter still makes you smile, laugh and be happy! Anyway, there's only one chapter left, which will double as the final chapter and the epilogue. Online has come such a long way, and Sensei sincerely thanks each and everyone one of you who have taken the time to leave a review, and even those that haven't, thank you for reading this story and alerting/favouriting it! **

**Kao: In regards to some review replies... *clears throat* **Classified**: ...You, my friend, are one crazy assed son of a hot-cake... Sensei totally adores your review! XD**

Sasodei90**: You review made Juura-sensei literally glow with happiness. She was so flattered and pleased, and she really thanks you for that review! We're all glad you like it so much!**

Whointheworldwouldbelievethat**: Awww, we're glad you like the story! Don't be sad that it's ending! You can always read it over again! :D Thank you for the review!**

**And to everyone else who has reviewed, they are all read, loved, adored and appreciated, and Juura-sensei just want's to thank you all for every review, and she loves you all and blah blah, all that other sappy stuff... **

**Kam: Bro! D:**

**Kao: What, we don't have time to repeat the whole emotional speech Juura gave about her 'amazingly wonderful reviewers of awesomesaucery...and I forget the rest of the ridiculously long nickname she gave them. ON WITH THE STORY ALREADY!**

**Disclaimer/Warning: Don't own, no real warnings!**

**ONLINE!  
**

* * *

The mall was full that afternoon with many students milling about, jabbering away and darting into store after store. Adults, families and children alike were all sweeping through the large walkways, the dull rumble of hundreds upon hundreds of voice chattering sounding like a small aeroplane. Echo-y steps were joined into the not so musical mix as our small group made its way through the throngs of people, clutching onto each other's arms shoulders and clothes so as not to be swept away by the current of bodies.

I struggled not to lose my grip on Sasuke's hand as he pushed ahead through the crowds, following after Shikamaru who seemed to be an expert at dodging the bodies, despite his lazy posture.

"Geez, why are there so many people here today?" Sakura huffed, sliding between a couple with an apologetic smile before she reached out and snatched a hold of my free hand.

"I think there's some huge sale at one of the more popular stores!" Kiba said before nearly falling as a group of guys shoved passed. "HEY I'M WALKING HERE YOU TWATS!" he yelled after them and received a few fingers in return. "OH YEAH? UP YOURS, YOU _JERKS_!"

Hinata blushed, clutching his arm a bit tighter and pulling him forward before the group of guys could turn and come after them. Kiba let himself be led back to the rest of us, grumbling about assholes the entire time. Sakura reached out and took a hold of Hinata's jacket so as to keep the two of them close.

We continued to make our way sluggishly towards the large open area where there were many benches, tables and fast food stands all around. Shikamaru finally burst through the surging wall and reached back, grabbing Sasuke by his collar and helping yank him through. My hand slipped from his at the sudden tug, and for a moment the rest of us panicked as we began to get herded back into the large crowd. It was terrifying and Sakura was squeezing my arm tightly as people kept brushing closer.

"Dammit, this mall is too small if people are able to get this close!" she hissed and I agreed, my eyes swivelling left and right as I tried to find an opening.

A hand shot through the bodies, startling several people who almost walked into it, and then I was being tugged out of the fleshy sea. Sakura, Kiba and Hinata were gladly pulled along with me and we gasped for air when we were out in the open, Sasuke and Shikamaru standing nearby.

"I didn't think it'd be this packed..." Shikamaru frowned, looking around in annoyance. "It might be harder for them to find us..."

"Who is 'them'?" Sasuke asked, reclaiming my hand and giving me an annoyed glare for letting go in the first place. I shrugged, looking around.

"You'll see," was all Shikamaru answered with, moving to stand in a more open space. He placed his hands in his pockets and would lazily turn around slowly every couple of minutes. We all stood nearby, wondering what he was doing before finally Kiba voiced the question.

"Why are you acting like a retarded music-box figurine?"

Okay, well, maybe not the exact same question but it got to the point.

Shikamaru sent a glare his way. "I told them they could identify me by my jacket, so I'm making sure that they have a chance to see it no matter what angle they're coming from you moron."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "How was I supposed to know?" he challenged and Shikamaru just shook his head in defeat, muttering a 'troublesome' under his breath.

We waited for ten more minutes, chatting randomly and occasionally looking around to see if there was anyone who looked lost.

Finally, a loud shout came from somewhere to the left.

"HEY! IT'S YOU! It _is_ you right? OH YES YOU'RE WEARING THE JACKET!"

We turned to see an even smaller group of people coming towards us. There were only three.

The one who had spoken was a petit blonde girl who was literally hopping over to us, waving excitedly. Behind her trailed a boy wearing thick sunglasses and a high collared coat, and behind him was...

"Oi, isn't that Akimichi Chouji?" I whispered, leaning towards Sasuke for confirmation. He nodded slowly, and we wondered what Shikamaru had planned. The other two were unrecognisable, and they most definitely didn't go to our school.

Shikamaru turned to greet them, raising his hand lazily. "Yo. Glad you could find your way."

"Are you nuts? It's like a bloomin' jungle in here! I thought for sure I was going to be swept away like a leaf on the wind!" the girl said, jogging up to us and huffing out a breath, glaring at the passing swarms of people. "I thought I was going to get trampled at one point!"

Shikamaru nodded in agreement, turning to survey the crowd. "It's not usually this hectic. I guess we picked a bad day."

"Oh well, we're all here now right? So are these the rest of them?" the blonde girl said, peering around Shikamaru at us. Her eyes lit up and she squealed. "The guys are hot!" she giggled.

Sasuke groaned, running a hand over his face while I blinked, nonplussed. Kiba looked a bit flattered, but he sidled closer to Hinata as well. The blonde girl saw this and her face fell a bit.

"Oh, you're taken? You're with the cutie there?" she asked, motioning towards Hinata who blushed and hid her face in Kiba's arm slightly while he nodded, smiling. "That's so cute...well, there's still you two!"

Her blue eyes turned to us, and immediately Sasuke pulled me closer and glared.

"Hn. He's mine and I won't share," he growled threateningly, and I rolled my eyes when he pressed his lips against the back of my head. The girl looked even more defeated than before.

"You're gay? Oh man!" she wailed, slapping her hands to her cheeks. "That's just my luck! I mean seriously!"

Shikamaru cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should all go sit somewhere and then introductions can be made."

We nodded in agreement and began to fight our way through the surging crowd, listening to the girl grumble all the while about her terrible luck at always finding the hot gays.

After much struggling, fighting, panicking, getting lost- "Oh dear God, I'm going to starve in here!"- getting found- "K-Kiba-kun, we're in the f-food court..."- and all around having a rough time in the crowd, we managed to seat ourselves at a burger joint.

Shikamaru waited until the waitress had taken our drink orders before leaning heavily on the table and speaking.

"Alright, time for introductions," he began, smirking. "Everyone, this girl here is Yamanako Ino. She just moved here a couple of months ago, and is in home schooling; hence we've never met her at school."

Ino grinned, waving. "It's nice to meet you all!" she cheered, and we returned the greeting...perhaps a little less enthusiastically.

"I'm Akimichi Chouji. I'm in some of your classes," Chouji said, smiling kindly. We nodded back, already knowing before turning our attention to the last guy. The creepy one in the high trench coat jacket.

"My name is Aburame Shino...I live in the next city, but I came here to visit a relative that I haven't seen in many years. It's a pleasure." His voice was deep and mysterious, and for some reason I felt like there were bugs crawling over my skin every time he spoke. It was so weird.

Shikamaru nodded and finally turned to us. "Our turn. I'm Nara Shikamaru. I've lived here since I was conceived."

Sakura snorted at his choice of definition and waved a hand. "Haruno Sakura. I've lived here since I was born."

"H-Hyuuga Hinata. I-I used to l-live in the next city, but w-we moved here when I was f-four."

"The name is Inuzuka Kiba! I lived in the next city too until my dad up and left since he was too much of a pathetic loser to stay with my mom. We moved here when I was five."

Everyone turned to look at Kiba in surprise and he shrugged. "I can't remember the guy, so no biggie."

"K-Kiba, I had n-no idea!" Hinata said sadly, gripping his hand. Kiba just grinned, waving it off.

"Nah, like I said I don't even remember him. Besides, my mom has done a great job on her own, I think any guy would've just gotten in her way. It was better for my sister and I to just have her! I mean, look at how awesome I am!" Kiba jabbed a finger to his chest.

Sasuke snorted loudly. "If by awesome you mean a retarded turkey, then yes, you're awesome."

The table laughed aloud while Kiba started cursing Sasuke to the deepest depths of Heaven...because, according to Kiba, Uchiha's were the rulers of Hell, so Heaven would be more torture for them.

"Hey, hey! We still don't know who these two are!" Ino pointed out, waving towards Sasuke and me. I smiled.

"I'm Naruto, and this grumpy guy over here is Uchiha Sasuke."

I felt a harsh nudge in my side and rolled my arms. "Sorry, sorry...let me rephrase that. This grumpy guy over here is my _boyfriend_, Uchiha Sasuke," I corrected and Sasuke smirked triumphantly, resting his arm on the back of my chair like he was the king of the bloody castle.

"Hang on a second...What's your last name? You didn't say it." Ino said, frowning at me.

I blinked, my smile slipping off. Oh dear...

"Uh...Well," I ran a hand through my hair, feeling unsure. What did I say now? I'd gotten so used to using only my first name in an introduction, and I was so used to everyone already knowing who I was and hating me. I didn't want to experience that scene again...the scene where a potential friend turns into yet another hating soul out to eat my liver the moment it becomes legal.

Sasuke suddenly leant closer, nudging my head with his. "Chouji already knows who you are, and the other two aren't from Konoha...you're fine," he murmured and I grinned at the realization.

"Right! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you!" I greeted and Ino smiled, holding out her hand to shake mine.

"Right then! Now for the real introductions!" Ino said slyly, turning to wink at Shikamaru. The rest of us shared a confused look.

"Didn't we just give real introductions?" Sakura asked and Shikamaru smirked.

"Not the right real introductions for us. So...let me start then." He rested his elbows on the table and turned to survey us all lazily, a smirk still curving his lips. "I am CloudsRNice."

I blinked while Sasuke shot up in his seat, a look of dawning realization on his face.

"No way..." he trailed, staring at Shikamaru. "Seriously?"

Shikamaru nodded and turned to Ino expectantly. She grinned and straightened up.

"I am BeautySoul!" she cheered.

My jaw hit the table while Sakura and Hinata gasped. Kiba stared blankly, taking a few seconds to realize what that meant before he jerked back.

"Are you serious?.!" He cried, looking at her in shock. Ino just grinned and turned to Chouji, who smiled.

"I am BubunBaika."

Sakura made an odd choking noise.

"I am Mantis001," Shino said slowly.

I shivered and Sasuke absently rubbed my back, his eyes roving over the three.

Shikamaru snickered at our dumbstruck expressions and turned to motion us. "I think it's best if I do the rest," he said teasingly before pointing to each of us in turn. "Sakura is BlossomBomb, Kiba is WolfPack01, Hinata is Natoru-Hime, Sasuke is Avenger and Naruto is Kyuubi."

I gaped at the others in shock.

This was all too surreal...

"Shikamaru...?"

Shikamaru smiled at me. "This was my surprise. Meet the rest of our Shaiya friends."

* * *

The day felt like a wild rollercoaster, spinning every which way and threatening to make you sick but the excited thrill was enough to keep you screaming with joy for the rest of the ride. After the initial shock of finding out who the three newcomers were, the excitement sunk in.

Kiba had actually jumped out of his seat and done a weird hoppy-dance in his excitement. Of course, both Sakura and I were quick to point out just how gay he'd looked, and he'd promptly tried to drown us in milkshake. That failed when Sasuke bravely stepped in the way and whispered to Kiba that he would tell Hinata about all those 'dreams' the dog lover had had of her.

Kiba backed down, tail between his legs, and victory was ours.

Once everyone had calmed down, reasonably, we all decided to get to know each other more. And what better way to bond than to fight side by side through endless swarms of evil zombies on a video screen?

"The right! Over to the right!"

"I see it!"

"Ah! It grabbed me!"

"Shake it off!"

"I'm out of ammo! Help me!"

"Dobe, you have unlimited ammo! Just reload!"

"Oh yeah!...Oops."

All of you cretins better shut up! Don't insult my momentary lack of common sense! Sasuke already did that.

After our round of undead hunting, we settled down in the seats scattered around the arcade as we decided what to do next.

Ino was showing us a trick she'd created, where she balanced a straw topped with a coin on her nose. Hinata and Sakura were clapping while the blonde girl stood and gently swayed to keep the straw upright. Kiba was watching a group of guys playing air hockey, occasionally snickering when one of them missed. Shino and Shikamaru were engaged in some interesting conversation-I had no clue what the hell they were talking about- while Chouji looked over the arcade's cafeteria menu.

"Gah! Sasuke!" I snapped, firmly yanking his hand away from my thigh. "Dammit, we're in public!"

He grinned. "All the better to molest you, my dear," he said slyly and I shoved his face away, rolling my eyes.

"You're creepier than the guy from The Shining," I noted and he shrugged, looking pleased with himself.

"What can I say? I'm amazing."

"Amazingly egotistical, yes."

"Dobe."

"Teme."

Ino cried out as the straw toppled over, the coin thudding against her forehead before clattering to the floor and rolling away. She looked comical running after it, half crawling until finally she slapped her hand over it with a triumphant shout of 'AHA!'.

Sadly, she'd stopped right by the guys playing air hockey, and one of them stepped to the side. He hadn't noticed her, so his legs collided with her side and he was sent tumbling over while Ino yelped.

Hinata gasped as the two tumbled to the floor and Sakura rushed over, helping Ino into a sitting position. Kiba was laughing despite Shikamaru's grumbling for him to shut up while Sasuke just held me back from running over.

"Hey, what the hell?" the guy yelled as he pushed himself up.

Ino looked mortified, straightening her shirt. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize I was in the way," she apologized, cheeks tinting red at the stupid excuse. The guy glared, looking ready to argue.

"Sasuke, quick! Intervene!" I whispered, pushing him towards them. Sasuke pushed back, raising an eyebrow.

"Why must I do it?" he hissed.

"Because! You have Uchiha genes! You come fully equipped with The Scowl, The Glare and They Eyebrow Wave! All of those are key in intimidating lesser beings and controlling them!" I explained, kneeing him forward until he was within Eyebrow-Wave distance of the group.

"Dobe, that's the stupidest-"

"Do it and I'll agree to a romp tonight, alright?"

I'd never seen him whip out The Scowl, The Glare and The Eyebrow Wave so fast before...the guys at the air hockey were gone in seconds and everyone else was still marvelling at his awesome intimidation powers even as he came to stand beside me again, a pleased look on his face.

"How'd you do that, Sasuke?"

"That was cool!"

"Why'd you do it?"

"Hn. I'm going to get rewarded later."

The knowing gleam in Sakura's eye was frustrating, to say the least.

* * *

Evening rolled around in record time, and we were all walking through the streets towards the bus stop. Ino and Shino had to catch the bus to get to their respective homes, and Chouji's house was within walking distance of the bus stop.

I walked behind most of the group, watching the different interactions taking place. Shikamaru and Chouji were right in front of us, and I couldn't help but be surprised at how well they seemed to get on. Shikamaru was actually doing all the talking, but even thought I could see Chouji wasn't completely understanding what the genius was saying, he looked really interested and eager to learn everything. It was funny, especially when Shikamaru paused, looked at him, sighed and started to explain everything he'd just talked about.

Walking in front of them were Kiba, Hinata and Shino. Shino seemed to be in a deep discussion with Kiba. He was even listening intently to what Shino was saying, while Hinata nodded along in agreement. I decided not to try and listen in on that conversation when Kiba replied with 'So some bugs eat their young and others let their young eat them?'

I categorized Shino was an insect lover. His character name now made so much more sense.

In front of them, Sakura and Ino were arguing at the top of their lungs. Ino seemed to insist that she was the better gamer of the two, and Sakura was fiercely defending her pride by saying that she'd had better tutors in the game world, I.E Kiba, Sasuke and I.

"I'm telling you, forehead freak, I'm better at battles than you are!"

"What did you call me? I'm better at battles and item management, you pig!"

"Pinkie say what now?"

"You heard me, ditzy!"

Feel the love.

Sasuke chuckled softly beside me as Ino and Sakura started to yank on each other's shirts, getting closer and closer as they argued until eventually they were knocking heads, shoving fingers in each other's chests.

Hinata broke away from Kiba to try and diffuse the situation while the brunet just laughed at their expense. Shikamaru sighed and Chouji just shrugged, having nothing to contribute.

We were nearing the bus stop when I stiffened, seeing a figure standing there. Sasuke slowed to a stop beside me, looking confused before he too noticed the person. Squinting, I tilted my head to try and see who it was. A car drove past, and light washed over their frame. I blinked, straightening up and walking ahead.

"Hey!" I called, and waited for the person to turn to me before I spoke again, arms crossed over my chest. "What are you doing here?"

Slowly, Neji stepped out from the shadows and stood before us. He had his hands tucked in his jersey pockets, and his hair was loose, falling around his face. His grey eyes scanned over us briefly before looking directly at me.

"I'm here to pick up Hinata...It's late, and her Father is going to get worried."

Hinata gasped, looking at the time. "Oh no! I d-didn't realize it w-was so late! He's going to be so m-mad at me!" she fretted, we all shared nervous glances. Hinata had told us how strict and scary her father was.

"Actually..." Neji spoke up, looking a bit out of place as he shuffled his feet. "I...I told him that you were participating in the school's Evening Tutoring Sessions...He believes you're helping," he paused, his eyes darting to me before turning back to the floor, "He believes you're helping less fortunate students with their work."

We all stared at Neji as he stood there, shuffling his feet awkwardly and looking everywhere but at us.

"Y-you lied...for me?" Hinata asked softly, looking stunned. Neji huffed, giving an almost invisible nod.

"Well...You don't get to spend time with your...friends...often," he mumbled, his face reddening. "I just thought..."

I tried to hold it in, but it was no use. A laugh escaped me as I watched the Hyuuga stumble over his own emotions, and he turned to glare at me.

"What's so funny?" he snapped, and I grinned in reply. Walking forwards, I tilted my head up to survey him.

"It's just," I began, smirking at him. "You don't have to look so mortified at having helped out your cousin. It's all cool!"

Neji huffed, but he did seem more relaxed. "Whatever. I don't need you to reassure me, Uzumaki."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "You're still an asshole then," I mourned and Neji glared at me again. "But, there's obviously hope for you. Don't worry, Hyuuga..." I clapped a hand onto Neji's shoulder and he winced. "Spend a few days with us, and you'll learn how to be a nice guy!"

"What? I'm not spending-"

"Hey everyone! Neji here is going to be eating lunch with us from now on!" I called, wrapping an arm around Neji's shoulder and causing him to stumble down. Sasuke shook his head at my ranting even as Neji tried to throw me off. Kiba was holding Hinata's hand tightly, watching Neji carefully. Hinata looked rather pleased with the changes, while Shikamaru and Chouji just shared a look and shrugged.

"Oh my God, who's this?" Ino yelled, bursting into our little circle and staring at Neji. "He's hot!"

Neji looked nonplussed and embarrassed, and I laughed before pushing him towards Ino.

"That's Neji! He's an asshole, but maybe you can change that?" I snickered at Neji's horrified expression as Ino hugged him, squealing excitedly.

"MY PLEASURE!"

Sidling up to Sasuke, I saw his smirk as he watched Neji struggle to get free of Ino's grasp as she chattered endlessly. Sakura was laughing too, while Kiba simply snickered and held Hinata close.

The bus arrived soon, and we all waved our goodbyes to Ino, Shino, Chouji and the two Hyuuga's. Through the window, we could see Ino working to drag Neji into the seat next to her while Hinata just watched on helplessly, a smile on her face.

"Well, I've got to walk the other way. So I'll see you guys at school." Shikamaru yawned, already moving to walk away. I ran up to him before he could escape and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks for the awesome surprise, Shika! You rock, my friend!" I cheered, and Kiba hooted behind me. Shikamaru smiled, waving as he walked away.

I backed up until I was standing with the others, and Sakura turned to smile at me.

"I'd say we should have a sleepover, but I think Sasuke would kill me if I did," she said, and laughed when Sasuke nodded threateningly. Once her laughter had died, she pulled me into a hug.

"It's good to see you so happy," she whispered and I smiled into her hair, nodding.

"You too," I murmured and felt her chuckles in her shoulders. She pulled away after a few more seconds, patting my shoulders. I smiled at her, looking straight into her green eyes. They were like a set of mirrors, reflecting over everything that had happened in the past year. I could see how we had all changed, if slightly or drastically. The obstacles each of us had faced had been overcome, both alone and together. We had all grown, gotten closer. I had so many things to be thankful for now, Sakura included.

"Alright, this soul-staring is starting to give me the heebie-jeebies! Can we go home now?" Kiba interrupted, waving his hand in front of my face. I laughed while Sakura rolled her eyes. With a quick hug to Kiba and a handshake to Sasuke, she turned and started the short walk to her house.

"Should we really let her walk alone in the dark?" Kiba asked, and I snorted.

"Kiba, the one person who had tried to mug Sakura when she was thirteen ended up calling the cops to save _him_. She'll be fine," I said, sensing the horrified looks Sasuke and Kiba shared.

Once Sakura was out of sight, I turned and smiled at the last two.

"Shall we be going home then?"

Kiba nodded, yawning. "I'm beat. Today was pretty hectic. I'm going to go right to sleep!" He said as we started to walk. Sasuke smirked, wrapping his arm over my shoulders.

"Yeah, Kiba, you do that. Naruto and I still have something to do," he leered. Kiba let out a loud groan, rubbing his face with his hands.

"I did not need to hear that, you jackass!" he snapped, glaring at Sasuke when he only shrugged in response.

I chuckled, shaking my head at their antics as my apartment building slowly drifted into view. Grinning, I pulled away from Sasuke's hold, jogging backwards so I could look at them.

"I bet you all the upgraded armour and magic stones in my inventory that I can reach the bottom of the stairs first!" I said, saluting them and turning away, running as fast as I could. I heard Sasuke and Kiba yelling after me, each betting their own things as they tried to catch up and I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

I love my life.

* * *

**Juura: *sneaks in* Hiya everyone! I really wasn't sure about this chapter, I just feel...I dunno. It's hard to write when my sis keeps barging in and questioning everything I like. *rolls eyes* talk about mood killer. Anyway, if you think I should re-do this chapter, let me know. Otherwise, thank you all for everything! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I seriously look forward to any and all reviews!**

**Love you all!**

**PREVIEW!**

_Final chapter! Weeks passed, and Naruto really looks at how much his life has changed over the past year. He compares how he would've spent his day a year ago against how he spends his day now, and marvels at the fabulous changes. Enjoy the last chapter along with Naruto and his friends as Online finally concludes._

**~This story is so in love with all of you for all the awesome reviews, make it die(end) with happiness and give it a few more, eh? XD~****  
**


	40. Chapter 40 Final Chapter

**Wow... 9 months... 9 months of helping this baby grow, and now it's ready to go out into the fanfic world, fully complete. I will not lie...this is more than just a finished, popular fanfic to me...It's the longest, most succesful story I've written...and...it's finished. I've always wanted to write a story that people like and finish it...yes, these characters aren't mine, but...still... I can't help but feel greatly accomplished. Alright...ah, I want to keep talking here...to postpone it as long as I can but I know I can't do that. T_T It has to end.**

**Q_Q Without further ado...**

**Online! Final Chapter!  
**

* * *

The sound of birds tweeting outside was like a badly-put together music piece, irregular and yet somehow still entertaining. The sunlight streaming through my curtains was like small beams of pure heat, warming my skin where it lay in the rays of light. I blinked slowly, breathing deeply as I stared towards the window, deep in thought.

It was amazing.

...

No, not the fact I was thinking, you jerks. Despite what some people-_Sasuke_-might say, I am very much capable of deep and profound thinking...I just prefer not to do it, because it gives me a headache, what with all the epiphanies, philosophies and many other 'fee' sounds that I don't even know.

What was amazing was how much my whole life had changed in the span of one year...and all because of one little online MMORPG. If I hadn't started playing Shaiya, I never would've met Avenger and the rest...and, ultimately, I never would've gotten close to Sasuke, Shikamaru, and all the others. I'd still only have Sakura as my friend. I'd be miserable, picked on continuously...

I would still be clueless as to why everyone hated me. I wouldn't remember my parents at all. I wouldn't have a family, wouldn't have friends... I wouldn't have anything!

But now...now I have people to call friends, people to call my family...I have Sakura, and Shikamaru and Kiba and the Uchihas...but above all I have Sasuke.

Wow.

That's all I can truly say...It's all I can really use to express it, because there is no other singular word to describe it.

_Wow_!

'_Don't hate us 'cause we're happy! Don't hate us 'cause you're miserable!_-'

I grinned, turning over and switching off my alarm, cutting off the lead singer for Bowling for Soup. I continued to hum the tune of the song, mentally laughing at the irony of the title.

"Yes, yes I am gay...in both senses of the word," I muttered to myself, shaking my head at the joke. I walked over to the wall, drumming out a rhythm and waiting for Kiba to give an angry return call of some kind.

"BE _GONE_, DEMON OF THE WAKING WORLD! THE POWER OF SLEEP _COMPELS_ YOU!"

...He was getting creative.

Giving an extra hard thump to the wall, I smirked at Kiba's heightened attempts at banishing me and set about getting ready.

About two weeks had passed since we met up with Ino and the others, and we'd all gotten together multiple times to hang out. More than once, we'd ended up coming to my house, setting up laptops and computers and just playing Shaiya all day long. That had been awesome.

However, lately the site had been going through maintenance, so I hadn't really been on as much as I used to. And to be honest...I was getting a little bored.

The game was fun, without a doubt...but that hadn't really been my reason for playing it from the beginning. Sure, I'd downloaded it because it looked fun, but the thing that honestly kept me coming back...was the friends I'd made.

And now...

Well, I had all my friends here with me, so there was little that kept me going onto the site.

I paused in buttoning my shirt, turning to look over at my PC and smiling a little nostalgically.

"Just about a year ago...I'd have been itching to come home from a bad day at school and play Shaiya...Now, it's like a memory," I sighed, letting my eyes close.

Once I was dressed, I walked over to my PC and lit up the screen, gazing at the game icon. A smile curved my lips.

"I guess...I owe all my thanks to you, really. You changed my life." A laugh escaped me as I realized how crazy I may have looked; thanking a computer game for saving me. But it was the truth. If I hadn't played that game, I wouldn't have gotten close to Sasuke and the others.

I continued to smile as I closed down my PC and turned away.

Unlike all those months ago...I _knew_ that today was going to be a _good day_.

* * *

Kiba had been drastically held up by his sister, so we were running a bit late. Apparently, the fact that Hana's boyfriend had walked out of her room in only his boxers was enough of a starter for Kiba to try and pull out his intestines. Hana had spent fifteen minutes just whacking Kiba repeatedly over the head with her shoe until he conceded defeat and agreed to let her boyfriend live.

Upon realizing that walking would make us about half an hour late, Kiba decided we would catch a bus.

...Do you see the genius here?

"Kiba...you're asking me to catch a bus..." I restated slowly even as we walked towards the bus stop. Kiba nodded.

"Yeah. What's the problem?"

Freaking Einstein over here...

"Uhm, maybe the fact that every bus driver in this city would rather run my ass over than let me catch a lift with them?" I said sweetly, and smirked at the realization that washed over Kiba's face.

"Oh man...well, I guess we can be a bit late then."

"No, you catch the bus. You're record is even worse than mine, anyway. I'll just keep walking," I said, waving away Kiba's arguments.

"But-"

"Oh look! Your bus is here!" I called cheerily as we stopped at the station. I ignored the dirty looks some older people sent me, instead herding Kiba towards the open doors. "Better hurry Kibbles! I'll see you at school!" I said, shoving him inside before he could protest and turning to walk away.

"Little monster..." someone muttered, and I turned to look at them. It was a woman and her husband, standing side by side.

I stared at them for a moment, well aware that many people were watching me from both on the bus and off. Then, I sighed.

"M'am, did you lose someone in that incident?" I asked softly. The woman looked surprised that I had even spoken, and even more so at the polite tone I used. Slowly, she nodded, her face regaining some anger.

"My niece," she said, emotion coming to trim the edges of her tone.

I lowered my eyes, feeling the guilt and sadness creep up on my mother's behalf. Without hesitation, I got to my knees, bowing before the woman. I heard her sharp intake of breath, as well as the surprised gasps and noises around from other viewers.

With my forehead pressed to my fingers on the floor, I spoke.

"I am truly sorry for you loss...It was not my intention, nor my wish for you to feel any pain over the folly of my family. I am so sorry," I sniffed. "I hope that, someday, you can find it in your hearts to forgive my mother for her mistakes...I apologize deeply from my own heart...and I apologize on behalf of both my parents." I pressed my face further down, eyes closed and body still.

The ball was in her court now.

I knew very well that this position would make it easy for anyone to kick me, knock me over...they could do anything and I wouldn't see it coming. My heart beat frantically, muscles tensed. Somehow, even though I was staring at the inside of my own eyelids, I could see Kiba hanging off the bus step, his body buzzing with anticipation. I had no doubt that, should someone decide to strike, Kiba would jump into action to defend me.

He was truly a great and loyal friend.

A sigh echoed from above me, and slowly, hesitantly, I glanced up. The woman turned to her husband, who was rubbing his temple. He looked down at me, his eyes saddened before turning to look at his wife.

"Dear...It's been near seventeen years since that incident. And Lord knows holding a grudge has only made the feelings worse. It's time for you to move on...to let go of the past. This boy is apologizing for his parents mistakes...he had no part in it, why should he be blamed. He has apologized...there is nothing more anyone could do."

The woman closed her eyes, a few tears leaking down her cheeks. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked down at me. I held my breath, waiting.

Then she held out her hand.

"Stand up boy, the floor is dirty," she said quietly, averting her eyes. "You don't want to catch something..."

Blinking, I slowly reached up and took her hand, and she helped me to my feet. Her hand lingered around mine for a moment, before she let go, huffing out a breath. People around us were watching in silence, as the woman slowly stepped onto the bus beside Kiba. She paused, turning her head to look over her shoulder at me.

"...Thank you, young man. Apology accepted," she said quietly before quickly walking into the bus.

Her husband let out a relieved sigh, and clapped his hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you. She's been bearing a heavy burden for all these years. Your apology was exactly what she needed to hear to be able to move on. You've helped her more than you may think. And I thank you for that," he said, chuckling at my shocked expression. Just as he was climbing onto the bus, he turned to smile at me. "You look just like your father, and you seem to have his kind-hearted nature too. I can tell," he tapped his nose, winking at me before vanishing into the bus.

As the vehicle drove away, and people began to move again, I turned to look up at the sky.

'_Dad...Mom...did you see that?_' I thought, and smiled. '_I promise...I'll make things right for our family. And an Uzumaki never goes back on their word!_'

* * *

"Uzumaki...you're over half an hour late," Mizuki said as I stood before him. I held my bag straps tighter, looking at the floor.

"Sorry, sir."

"Why are you so late?"

"I was held up... and it takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to walk here from my apartment."

Mizuki tilted his head. "You were held up...at the bus station, correct?" he grinned when I looked up in surprise. "Don't look so shocked," he snorted, "You might pull something."

"How did you know, sir?" I asked curiously, narrowing my eyes. "Hey...are you stalking me?"

Mizuki laughed out loud even while a few people in class made derisive noises.

"No, Uzumaki, I am not stalking you. That's Uchiha's job, not mine."

"Thanks, sir," Sasuke drawled from his seat, leaning against his hand. "Now you've given away my dark secret. I'm going to have to find a new hobby," he continued, smirking at me.

I snorted into my hand while Mizuki chuckled. "A new hobby like what?"

Sasuke grinned.

I knew that grin.

Before he could talk, I waved my hand. "Sir, I think whatever 'hobby' he was going to say isn't something appropriate for a public classroom."

Mizuki blinked before turning away. "I always knew Uchiha was a closet pervert."

"And a proud one at that, sir," Sasuke piped up, and I heard my friends snicker. Mizuki shook his head, faking remorse.

"I have a proud pervert in my class. What am I going to do now? Woe is me!" he moaned, placing a hand to his eyes in dramatic fashion. For a moment, we all watched as he slowly walked to his desk, still acting dramatic. Then he spun around. "Ah, I know what to do!" he cheered, motioning for me to come forward. He quickly wrote a bunch of sums on the board, and then handed the chalk to me.

"Uzumaki, please solve all these sums," he said, and turned to Sasuke. "And Uchiha, you're not allowed to look at him."

Sasuke shrugged, turning in his seat.

Mizuki looked over at me and smirked. "Make a show of it."

I blinked before grinning, finally getting his plan. Judging by the few understanding noises I heard, many other classmates understood it as well.

I placed my bag on the floor and started on the first sum. Mizuki was leaning against his desk, absently tapping his foot. It made a kind of rhythm. I grinned, starting to dance a bit to the single drum. Kiba caught on, and began to drum on his desk. I smirked at him over my shoulder as I picked up the pace.

Someone in the class giggled at my random dance, and then Sakura picked up the torch.

"Whoo! Shake that booty, Naruto!" she cheered, and the class laughed.

I obliged, easily seeing the way Sasuke was tensing. Mizuki laughed from his spot, moving to sit down behind his desk.

"Until Uzumaki finishes those sums, I'm just going to sit here and go over some papers. Please carry on, Uzumaki," he said, and I nodded, finishing the first sum with a flourish and moving onto the next one with a well times spin to the drumming.

A few more students began to drum, and then someone in the back began to hum. Their voice was soon joined by others until a full on song was in the making. I was dancing weirdly, I knew, but that was the whole point. We all just wanted to see how long Sasuke could last.

Even when I was standing still, catching my breath, a few students would wolf whistle or call out. It amazed me how everyone was participating in this game, even people who obviously hated me. I could see Karin tapping on her table, her eyes looking at Sasuke as he continued to face the back. It was easy to see he was itching to turn around.

Then, Sai stood up and grinned. "Wahoo, strip tease!" he cheered, and everyone quickly whistled.

"What?.!" Sasuke spun around, only to jerk when he saw me calmly finishing up the last sum, not even dancing anymore. "Dammit!"

The class burst into laughter, students high fiving each other, throwing jokes at Sasuke and me, and some even passing some money around.

It seems Sasuke was a regular betting item.

"Well, Uchiha...you lasted eight minutes," Mizuki said, looking at his watch. "Personally, I'm impressed...I was expecting you to fail after one."

Sasuke groaned, letting his head thump on the table. "You're all evil."

I ruffled his hair as I passed to my seat, and he retorted my hitting my ass.

"Ouch! I need to sit on this, jerk!"

Sasuke just smiled.

"Alright, fun is over!" Mizuki declared, moving back to the front, "Now it's time for the torture to begin! Brace yourselves, girls and runts! Today, we're doing a lovely _quiz_!"

The song came to an end when simultaneously; everyone let their heads thump onto their desks with a loud groan. Mizuki snorted.

"I wish we'd recorded that, it would've been a hit on YouTube."

* * *

Itachi was standing at the front of the classroom, drawling on about today's lesson. I was barely listening, even though not doing so would probably result in my corpse rotting somewhere uncouth once Itachi got a hold of me. But I couldn't really pay attention.

I was too busy thinking about how different everything was.

Had this been a year ago, I'd have been praying for the day to end.

Well, I was still praying for the school day to end, because school was still a drag no matter how fun some of the teachers were. Because even though we had fun, we still had to work.

Blegh.

But so far today...not one student had insulted me. Sure there was still the occasional glare from some girls, or maybe the avoided stare from a guy...but no one had outright said anything.

And now that I thought of it...they hadn't said anything recently. I hadn't noticed it because it changed slowly, but people had insulted me less and less as time wore on...and now they hardly did at all, if ever.

It was incredible.

So many things had changed; it was almost like a dream. I was half afraid to pinch myself just in case I woke up, and it had all been the most splendid dream ever. I no longer felt like I just existed in a world where everyone hated me. I felt like I could actually become someone. Like I actually belonged here after all.

"Naruto, Sasuke, please come help me hand out these worksheets," Itachi instructed, and I grinned, standing up.

"Yes sir!" I cheered, feeling happy. Itachi gave me a look.

"You seem awfully chipper today..." he noted, and then frowned. "You're not going to break out into song, are you?"

I laughed, starting to hand out the worksheets. "No sir, I won't torment anyone with that. I'm not you, after all."

Itachi and Sasuke shared a look, undoubtedly wondering why I was so bubbly today.

Hey, give a guy a break! I was just basking in the wonderful glow of how great my life had become over time. So what if I was extra chipper? There can never be enough happiness in the world!

After class, as we were making our way towards the final lesson of the day, Sasuke wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"So, why are you exceptionally happy today?" he asked, a small smirk on his face. I sighed, closing my eyes and letting him lead me.

I was no longer hated by everyone who looked at me. I had a chance to make things right with everyone. I felt like my future was bright and not the dull grey I had always pictured. I had friends, who liked me for me and didn't judge me on something I had no control over. I had a loving boyfriend, a family to call my own...

And in the end I...

I smiled, opening my eyes to look at Sasuke. Squeezing his arm tightly, I laughed slightly before replying.

"I'm just having a good day. Things are going my way for once!" I kissed his cheek, and he smiled at me. I looked around, seeing my friends surrounding my. Everyone was smiling contentedly, and I felt my heart warm. I gave Sasuke another small kiss before breaking out of his grip and slapping his shoulder. "Race you to Biology!" I darted down the hall, hearing all my friends chasing after me, Sasuke and Sakura in the lead. I laughed the entire way, the sunlight streaming through the windows and shining brightly on my face; and the sound of birds twittering playing in my ears from the open windows. Laughter followed as all as we ran, our footsteps echoing down the hall as we headed to our next class. As we headed into our future.

"Hey Hey! I love you, Sasuke."

"Hn. I love you to...Naruto."

"Wow, get the camera Sakura, we've got a soap opera going on here?

In the end, I have a great life after all.

And I love it!

**Game Over...**

* * *

**To all my readers:**

http: /juuria66. deviantart . com /#/ d3gq2fl

***inspirational music***

**Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story. I really couldn't have come so far without you all! My heart continues to burst with happiness each time I get one of your inspirational, fantastic, love-inducing- **

***record scratch***

**Kao: Whoa whoa WHOA! HOLD UP! *frowns* The hell was that? 'My heart continues to burst' ? What is this, a frikken Hallmark Card?**

**Me: Kao! You ruined the moment! We have just finished up the longest and most succesful story we've ever written! We need to give heartfelt speeches to complete the moment!**

**Kao: Pffft, *rolls eyes* Heartfelt speeches? Inspirational music? What are we? Ninjas? (XD) Why don't you start handing out sparkly tiaras while you're at it? Please, Sensei...Yes this is a new achievement for us all, but to get all sappy over it? I swear, our dustbin is going to overflow with tissues at this rate!**

**Me: *sniffs* But it's sad! I mean, it's over!**

**Kao: And people can re-read it, and people can still review it! And they can recommend it to all their friends who like fanfiction and yaoi too! And even those that don't enjoy yaoi all that much can read it! IT's not like it's a smutfest.**

**Kam: Much to some readers dissappointment. *smirks at readers* Bunch of pervs, the lot of you.**

**Kao: Hey now, let these adorable duckies perv if they wish. It's their business and we are all entitled to our own perving time!**

**Me: You're just saying that because you're a perv.**

**Kao: Guilty as charged, but I don't really care what you say. Either way, I demand that we finish this story with joy, lame jokes, bad puns and other forms of joyness!**

**Kam: Uhm...alright, got any jokes for us then?**

**Kao: Well!...well... ._. no...no I don't.**

**Me: *tosses papers away* Well either way, the whole moment is ruined thanks to Kuk-face over here-**

**Kao: HEY! :[**

**Me:- so we might as well say goodbye. Thank you all for reading, and if you haven't already, check out that link I put above. It's a thank you gift/end of story award thing... I hope you will continue to read my stories, and don't forget! Agent Duck-Butt is in the making! (Some of the actors are being difficult though, so production has slowed a bit. Hopefully the director will sort them out. XD)**

**Kam: Wait, I thought A D-B was a fanfiction?**

**Me: It is. ._.**

**Kam: But then...why...how... HUH?**

**Kao: Oh man, you're stupid tonight. ANYWAY! SERIOUSLY GUYS! We've gotta go do stuff, and sort out things, but we thank you all for reading, for reviewing, we'd love to see some reviews for this final chapter from our readers and hopefully we'll get new readers over time and more reviews. We'd greatly appreciate if you'd recommend our fic to friends and such and all in all...IT'S BEEN A GREAT RUN FOR ONLINE! THANK YOU ALL AND GOODNIGHT!**

**~*This story will continue to be sponsored by your reviews and continued loyalty~ Thank you all for reading this broadcast~Goodnight and Love to you all!*~  
**


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